Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I send my best wishes to the Minister who is not with us and I hope he makes a quick recovery. I am happy to have the opportunity to raise this matter again.

The issue of reorganisation was raised as a Topical Issue prior to the summer recess. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that what we are dealing with today is the fall-out from that reorganisation process. The Minister of State's response is something of a curate's egg in that it is good in parts but somewhat contradictory. I welcome that there has been engagement with RACO and PDFORRA. Does the Minister of State regret that this engagement did not occur prior to the decisions being made and would he agree that it was somewhat perverse to announce that major reorganisation in advance of work being undertaken on the Green Paper?

The Minister of State appeared to intimate in the earlier part of his response that relocation would be voluntary, that people would be consulted and given an opportunity to decide where they might go. He then went on to speak about the inevitability of mandatory relocations. Can the Minister of State indicate what quantum of personnel will have to move against their wishes to other locations? The Minister of State also referred to career paths and stated that there would be new promotional opportunities. However, he also, in the earlier part of his response, listed a plethora of promotional posts that would be done away with. Perhaps he will clarify that point for us and will confirm what percentage of those to be relocated will be mandatorily relocated and the timescale for the changes envisaged. This is a major problem in the area of the western brigade and the environs of Athlone, with many members who have huge mortgages and under real financial pressure concerned about the impact on them and their families of a forced move to a barracks at a considerable distance from where they are based and the ensuing costs.

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