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

While I take the Deputy's point, I am loath to start raising expectations about Columb Barracks. The community groups currently using the barracks are Westmeath GAA, the Irish United Nations Veterans Association, Lakeshore Wheelers, the Order of Malta, Mullingar Boxing Club, a crafts school, Mullingar Sub Aqua Club, the north-Westmeath adult literacy service and a youth organisation. As I said, the Land Development Agency was established for a reason. It is looking at how we can maximise the use of strategic assets nationally. We must also protect the infrastructure that has already been put in place, which is very significant in the case of the barracks in Mullingar.

That is likely to be the way the future gets designed and implemented, through the LDA. We are there to support that process and offer any input that we can regarding some of the ideas the Deputy suggested.

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