Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The interim report from the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General of the Department recommended the brigade headquarters would be based in Cork and Dublin. I was interested in the Deputy's figures. He asked if 200 members currently based in Athlone will be transferred along with their families. In the context of the reorganisation, no one will lose his job. There are no figures to indicate 200 members of the Defence Forces based in Athlone will be moved from there. The effect of the reorganisation will be that there will be approximately 1,000 members remaining in the barracks in Athlone. It is as simple as that.

From time to time, however, members of the Defence Forces are transferred from one barracks to another or they assume new duties or are promoted and as a consequence there is always movement within the Defence Forces. It would be quite extraordinary if the 1,000 who are there today, including 34 currently on international duty, were never to move out of Athlone. The position is that there will not be 500 or 600 members of the Defence Forces moved out of the barracks in Athlone. The exact modalities for implementing the reorganisation are a continuing part of the discussion between the Chief of Staff and my Secretary General involving those working under them. I look forward to receiving their final report and the position remains that the future of Custume Barracks is absolutely secure and the barracks will continue to play an important role in the western region.

The figures the Deputy mentioned were up to the end of February, when there were various changes as members resigned. The position as I described it was that there were just over 900 on 9 March 2011 based in the barracks. The numbers then changed as a consequence of retirements and transfers from Mullingar to Cavan and from Mullingar to Athlone and from Cavan to Athlone. The correct figure now is 1,050. It could be 1,052 because the world changes on a daily basis in the Defence Forces and the bottom line in all of this is that when the reorganisation is implemented, there will be in or around 1,000 individuals based in the barracks. There might be one day when there are 1,002 individuals and 999 the next day because there is always some level of movement between barracks, which is why I am constantly saying "in or about", but that does not mean "in or about" will be dramatically different from 1,000.

I regret people have been misinformed and there has been a campaign of misinformation and lobbying by some individuals on this matter. I must have regard to the interests of the country and the operational effectiveness of the Defence Forces.

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