Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have three brief supplementaries. There are concerns around reskilling. Those concerned want to examine it in terms of the Croke Park agreement. How will it be ensured that the personnel who will be relocated will be reskilled if need be?

There are concerns around the Minister's estimate of the savings that will be made from barrack closures. The Government has said it is €5 million based on an average wage of €50,000 per annum but the average wage in the Defence Forces is €37,000 per annum.

The Minister of State might not be able to give me an answer to this question now but I would like an answer to it. I understand that the Minister, Deputy Shatter, had issued some correspondence to his constituents welcoming the new incoming posts to Cathal Brugha Barracks from McKee Barracks. There were big questions over the closure of McKee Barracks and it is felt by Army personnel that it is a much more accessible point in terms of any logisticial operations they would have to carry out than Cathal Brugha Barracks. The Minister of State can come back to me on this if he does not have information to hand. Did the Minister issue soft-copy e-mail or hard-copy newsletters or correspondence to his constituents welcoming new posts to Cathal Brugha Barracks and has he been politically trying to benefit from the restructuring of the Defence Forces for his own electoral gain in his constituency?

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