Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is incorrect. There was and still is a Minister with responsibility for defence. It was previously Deputy Alan Shatter and now it is me. I do not know what the Deputy is talking about.

Second, effectively the Deputy was asking about the effect of the Defence Forces reorganisation on the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel based in Custume Barracks. The Defence Force reorganisation did not significantly alter the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel serving in Custume Barracks, Athlone. The effect of the reorganisation is that the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel based in Custume Barracks has been established at approximately 1,000 personnel within the overall strength ceiling of 9,500 Permanent Defence Force personnel.

At the time of the reorganisation there was some speculation that the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel serving in Custume Barracks would be reduced by numbers that varied between 400 and 600 personnel. This was based on an incorrect assumption that there were approximately 1,400 personnel permanently based in Custume Barracks at the time. The figure of 1,400 personnel appears to be based on the number of personnel that would have been permanently posted to Custume Barracks if the PDF's strength was at 11,500. This PDF strength level has not been seen since the 1990s. As such, references to personnel figures in the region of 1,400 bear no relationship to the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel who were based in Custume Barracks in recent years.

When the current Government took office in 2011, some 900 Permanent Defence Force personnel were based in Custume Barracks. The figure is significantly higher than that now.

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