Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

Those closures created a major upheaval for families in those communities. We all realise that it will create problems for all the families concerned, but we must look at expenditure. We also have to examine the various commissions' reports and studies going back to the 1990s that have identified barracks closures as a fundamental requirement towards improving military effectiveness and efficiency. The Minister of State, Deputy Penrose, is a man of principle. I understand, as the Taoiseach has announced in the other House, that the Minister of State has decided to resign as a result of proposed barracks closures.