Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 6: To ask the Minister for Defence his plans for further investment at Custume Barracks, Athlone, County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31328/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Department is engaged in an ongoing capital building programme designed to modernise and enhance the training, operational and accommodation facilities available to members of the Defence Forces. Under this programme, there has been considerable capital investment in Custume Barracks. Recent major projects include the provision of additional living-in accommodation, construction of a new gymnasium, refurbishment and extension of the Water Gate building as office accommodation and the provision of new underground services and associated works. The construction of new armoured vehicle garaging has recently reached substantial completion and the repair and upgrading of the heating system in the dining hall is under way. Approximately €5.8 million of the capital budget has been invested in Custume Barracks during the past five years.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister for his reply. As he is aware, Custume Barracks in Athlone have seen some additional capital investment on foot of the closure of the barracks in County Longford. As he knows, the military authorities are considering the possible closure of Cavan and Mullingar barracks, where a total of 330 soldiers and 240 reservists are based. This would have implications for the majority of staff who, in all probability, would be transferred to Custume Barracks. On foot of imminent closures, are plans afoot to make further investment in Custume Barracks?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As the Deputy may have heard me remark, no final decisions have been made on the further consolidation of barracks as part of the comprehensive review programme being undertaken. During November, the Government will make decisions applicable to all Departments on how to affect not merely savings, but also efficiencies.

If there were barrack closures that had implications for Custume Barracks, they are issues that would have to be addressed in the context of any decisions made, but it would be premature for me at this stage to enter into that issue because the matter is very much under consideration and no finality has been reached with regard to the decision-making process.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I accept what the Minister said and I am not trying to pre-empt any decision by Government. To put the question another way, if it is the case that the closure of barracks has implications for Custume Barracks in Athlone, can the Minister assure the House that the additional facilities required to cater for additional numbers would be put in place at Custume Barracks to meet the existing standards?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

It is of crucial importance, to the Deputy and all Deputies, that if there is further barrack consolidation which requires the movement of troops from one barracks to another, all necessary steps will be taken to ensure proper facilities are available and should that require some capital investment, that would have to be undertaken but it would have to be within the constraints that exist on public expenditure at present.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 7: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will provide the full list of army barracks due to close; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31565/11]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 18: To ask the Minister for Defence his schedule for the closure of army barracks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31567/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 18 together.

As of now, as I said, no decision has been made by the Government on the future of any military installation. However, the issue of the closure of barracks will be considered shortly as part of the comprehensive review of expenditure.

Various commissions, reports and studies back to the 1990s identified barrack closures as a fundamental requirement for improving military effectiveness and efficiency. Since 1998 a total of ten barracks have been closed under two barrack consolidation programmes. A total of €84.98 million has been realised from the disposal of six of these barracks and part of another. The moneys received from the sales of these and other Defence properties have been reinvested in equipment and infrastructure for the Defence Forces.

My priority must be to ensure that all decisions about resource allocation are focused on maximizing the capabilities of the Defence Forces and ensuring their continued operational capacity. I am also anxious to ensure, in so far as is possible, that the Government is not compelled by fiscal and budgetary constraints to effect any substantial further reduction in the current number of personnel in the Defence Forces. As on previous occasions, a Defence Forces security assessment will inform deliberations.

I regret that, prior to this matter being considered by Government in the context of the overall review of expenditure, uncertainty has arisen as to the future of barracks and I know this is a cause of concern to members of the Defence Forces and to their family members, as referred to earlier. Unfortunately, the space in which we find ourselves is as a result of the dreadful financial legacy we have inherited and it is important in the context of the overall review of expenditure that I, as Minister, ensure our resources are applied efficiently and that we maximise the capabilities of the Defence Forces to the greatest possible extent.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Although the Minister is not spelling it out, it sounds as if the dye is already cast from his point of view in that he will go ahead with the proposed barrack closures. If that is not the case, will he clarify his recommendations or the process within which this review will take place that will lead him to make a decision on this? The military personnel, their families and the towns associated with those barracks do not want the barracks to close or the anxiety that would cause. They do not want to be uprooted and the longer distances military personnel would have to travel would result in them being away from their families for a longer time. Taking account of the totality of matters, they seriously question what economic advantage could be gained from the closure of these barracks. From the Minister's point of view, it seems the dye is cast and that is a cause of concern because it seems to be very like what is happening with our local hospitals. Government thinking seems to be to centralise and close down small and local services as in the case of the health service. That seems to be the Minister's intention when it comes to small local barracks, regardless of the consequences for the military personnel, their families and the towns associated with them.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy and call the Minister to respond.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Could the Minister give those people some assurance that he is not already recommending these closures and that his priority is to keep those barracks open and cause the least possible disruption to these families and towns?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome the Deputy's support for our Defence Forces and I know he would agree with me that they perform a very important function both in serving the civil power domestically within this State and in the work they have undertaken under the auspices of the UN in a variety of peacekeeping missions across the world. My concern is to ensure we continue to retain within the Defence Forces the maximum capability to meet the obligations imposed on the Defence Forces and that the Defence Forces continue to have the capacity to engage in complex peacekeeping missions such as the one currently taking place in southern Lebanon where I visited some ten days ago.

I have to ensure, within the limited financial resource that is available, that we apply our funding in a manner that is efficient. In terms of the barracks as I have said, I would very much take account of advice I receive from the military on the strategic benefits of the retention, or otherwise, of particular barracks and on how to maximise operational capacities. That advice is fed into the process that is being currently conducted under the review of expenditure and I regard that advice as of key importance.

I remind the Deputy in case he does not realise it that, in the context of barrack location, the original decisions made about barrack location and their strategic importance were not based on the needs of this State as an independent State and the obligations of the Defence Forces to serve the civil power and to engage in UN missions. The primary thought process that went into the location of barracks was by the British sometime between 1750 and 1850 when they strategically decided where to locate barracks in order to contain the rebellious Irish. We have moved on somewhat from that particular historical analysis of where barracks should be located.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

We have certainly moved on from the rebellious Irish in terms of this Government's approach to dealing with the troika - that is for sure. Setting aside that issue, the Minister seems to be suggesting that his advice is primarily being dictated by the military considerations of the heads of the Army, the officers and so on, while my concern is primarily for the rank and file military personnel, their families, the towns with which they are associated and the detrimental effect barrack closures might have on them.

In the Minister's consideration of this as a financial matter, is the Government taking a holistic approach or is one Department doing something which may ultimately cost the State money elsewhere? There is little benefit in cutting costs in one area if there is a further negative, knock-on impact on a town, increased transport costs incurred in travelling to upgraded barrack locations, costs associated with the upgrading or centralisation of barracks, social welfare costs that may ensue and the long-term impact on a town of a barrack closure. The Minister said there is no evidence of people uprooting immediately because a barracks has closed but in the long term the closure will have a medium to long-term effect on the town as personnel migrate to other locations over time.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I note with interest some of the questions raised by the Deputy. He asked was my approach to this being dictated by military personnel. Of course, military personnel do not dictate to the Minister for Defence, but they have the expertise to give advice to the Minister for Defence as to what are the strategic necessities when it comes to barracks location and how to best maximise the capability of the Defence Forces. I take account and assess the accuracy of that advice, and give it serious consideration.

I was not aware that Deputy Boyd Barrett had any great expertise in matters of military strategy and, indeed, I would be interested if he had so that he might share it with me.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I would be happy to.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thought Deputy Boyd Barrett's view would be that we should not have a defence force at all and I am taken by his concerns for the Defence Forces.

In the context of Deputy Boyd Barrett's comment about costs, the cost of providing services, be they through the Defences Forces or through any other arm of Government, do not seem to be a concern to him. He seems to be flaithiúlach with the taxpayers' money and, obviously, operates from an ideological perspective where he believes, as I used to do as a child, that money grows on trees. Sadly, that is not the case.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Unless one is a banker, of course.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Sadly, the reality is that in order to pay currently the wages of the Defence Forces, of teachers, doctors and nurses, and of many others in the public service, we are dependent on two factors: first, complying with the EU-IMF agreement and reducing our borrowing requirements, and second, the continued receipt of money to make up the difference between what the State receives and spends. I have a definite obligation as Minister for Defence to ensure that funding is spent wisely; that we maximise the usefulness of the financial resources available to us; that we do not waste money to the detriment of taxpayers; and, as part and parcel of the review that is taking place, that the Department of Defence operates to the maximum efficiency. Indeed, the Department is the most efficient Department of all of the Departments of Government in the manner in which it applies resources. It is my obligation to ensure not only that that continues, but we make further improvements in that area.