John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

Suggestions have been that some of these proposals will be to the political advantage of individuals. However, on any objective assessment, I do not see how we can locate Defence Forces' headquarters anywhere other than at the Curragh. There is no reason that the Department of Defence should not be situated adjacent to those headquarters in Newbridge. The announcement that 250 Revenue officials are to decamp to Athy is a measure of the case put forward not by politicians but by the Athy investment, development and employment forum. The latter is made up of local people who act on their own behalf and who made their case eloquently and coherently to all the leaders of Government. It was they, not politicians, who secured those 250 jobs for Athy. I hope politicians across all parties helped in that effort but I do not believe anybody made a political sally on their own behalf in respect of Athy, which is disadvantaged and which requires the jobs in question. I welcome the fact that 250 Revenue jobs will go to Athy.

It makes excellent financial and logistical sense to locate Defence Forces' headquarters in the Curragh and to place 300 staff there, where they rightly belong. Since I entered the House some time ago I have advocated that Defence Forces' headquarters should be located at the Curragh and I am pleased that this will now be the case. I welcome the relocation of 200 jobs to Newbridge under the decentralisation of the Department of Defence.

A total of 10,300 people will be moved to out of Dublin to other areas of the country. This will benefit both those areas and the capital.