Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the fact that the needs of the central Border region in the context of defence and security issues will be taken into consideration in the review of the structures and location of Army installations. Dún Uí Néill was the most modern military barracks in Europe and opened in 1990. Very regrettably, it was closed in 2012. It is situated in the central Border region and as we know, that region does not have an Army barracks. I have spoken to people with a lot of military knowledge and experience and I very much value their opinion on security matters. These people served at different rank levels in our Permanent Defence Force are strongly of the view that this is the opportune time to at least reopen Dún Uí Néill as a forward operating base. I am speaking of people who played a key role in defending our State against paramilitarism and violence over the years and the protection of our State during a very difficult and troubled era was very much predicated on our Defence Forces and other emergency services having detailed knowledge of the entire Border terrain.

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