Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

In determining what decisions should be made in this area I will pay very careful regard to the views of the military authorities and to what they say to me about security issues. The security issues with regard to the location of barracks are very much something to be assessed based on the expertise of our Defence Forces, and I must listen carefully to what they say to me. I am very conscious that any further consolidation of barracks is a cause for concern and will cause inconvenience and disruption for members of the Defence Forces located in the barracks.

The Senator's party presided over the closure of ten barracks in different parts of the country. The closures undoubtedly were disruptive from the perspective of those members of the Defence Forces affected. Sadly, the legacy we have inherited as a Government, the financial and fiscal constraints imposed on the State by outside forces and the excessive level of our public expenditure can only be addressed by making difficult and uncomfortable decisions that in different financial circumstances would not be necessary.

I must have regard to the prevailing reality with which I am confronted in the very difficult decisions that need to be made, while also appreciating the fact that such decisions are disruptive for people. I also have to do it having regard to what is in the ultimate and final interest of maintaining our Defence Forces. My concern is to ensure that I have available to me the funding, as best I can secure it, to maintain our Defence Forces at the current level of 9,500, which is the level they were at in the 1970s. In the context of the Department of Defence I have to contribute to the financial savings that we are required to secure for the year commencing 2012 when there must be a reduction of between €3.6 billion and €4 billion in public expenditure. The tragic and sad reality is that no Department or area of expenditure is immune in this context and I hope it is something the Senator would understand in the context of any decisions that may be made with regard to barracks, should any such decision affect the barracks in Cavan.