Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his answer, although I think it is rather regrettable. I do not buy into it that "for operational reasons" they cannot tell us the number of Defence Forces personnel in any part of the country. It is disgraceful and whoever wrote that answer should be ashamed of themselves. Public representatives are not told, no matter where they are from, whether it is Cathal Brugha Barracks for someone in Dublin, or us in the west of Ireland. I am not asking for the names of people and I am not asking about individual sections. I asked a straight question about the number of personnel in an Army barracks. Whoever is sidelining that is doing so for the simple reason that the numbers are down, and they are not prepared to say it. I do not blame the Minister, but whoever wrote the answer, be it the civil servant or the person in the Army. It is disgusting to think that they will not even write down or tell us the number of people. I asked a simple question. When the Minister was in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, if I asked him a question, for example, over the past five years the number of personnel in the Department right around this country, he always gave it. Now we seem to be stifled by the Defence Forces. It is disgraceful.

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