Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

The Minister is right to acknowledge that the past decade has seen a significant investment in the military hardware used by the Defence Forces. We have also seen the use of the proceeds of the barracks consolidation programme pursued by the previous Government in the aftermath of the Northern Ireland peace programme. They have been used to update the obsolete military hardware of the Defence Forces.

Different challenges on overseas missions demand specific investment and equipment and along with the ongoing needs of the Naval Service, further investment may be required into the future. The Minister of State has acknowledged today that some €27.5 million will be spent in 2012. Will the Government use the proceeds from sales following barrack closures in Mullingar, Clonmel and Cavan to fund hardware investment or will they be returned to the Exchequer? I was totally against the closure of these barracks because I do not believe their closure represents value for money for the State. Also, they are a significant loss for their local towns. I do not believe they will be sold, because the market is dead. How does the Minister intend to fund future investment in hardware?

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