Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State. I had hoped the Minister for Defence would be present, but since I was in the Minister of State's position in the past, I welcome him out of courtesy. He took the trouble to come to the House.

Concern has been expressed in Athlone and surrounding areas about the future of the 4th Western Brigade's headquarters located at Custume Barracks. There is no question about the barracks because it is the headquarters for the troops who came from Longford in Mullingar, but there is concern as the headquarters of the western command has been at that location since the foundation of the State. It is the headquarters for the engineers, signal, medical corps, ordnance corps, training depot, 4th cavalry squadron, military police and other elements of the Defence Forces. People are concerned and worried about the future and rumours abound. The matter was brought to my attention by the former Minister Ms Mary O'Rourke and Councillor Aengus O'Rourke who are resident in Athlone. They have been very much associated with the barracks in their careers, as were Ms O'Rourke's brother, Brian, and father, Paddy. There is a very close connection between the O'Rourke and Lenihan families and the work of the Irish Army in Athlone. I ask the Minister of State, on behalf of the Minister for Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter, to allay the fears of people in the area and hope he will do so.

The Minister of State, as Chief Whip, should consider that, at the launch of the air ambulance service in Custume Barracks in Athlone on Monday, all non-Government-affiliated Members and councillors were excluded. We have a particular interest in the air ambulance service which is to be used for patients in Roscommon, Portiuncula and Mullingar hospitals and surrounding areas in dealing with emergencies. It would have been appropriate to invite those who were excluded. Extending invitations used to be the procedure, as I know having served in three or four Departments. I would not even have considered not inviting elected public representatives in an area to an event I was hosting. I am sure the Minister of State is of the same view. It is appropriate that he bear this in mind. The boycott of public representatives last Monday was unprecedented and I regret it very much, as do many colleagues of the Minister. The Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, was present at the event. I am not sure who sent the invitation, but I understand it came from the Defence Forces and the Minister in charge. If the Minister for Defence was present, I would be in a position to challenge him directly on this matter and he might have been able to clarify the position. I know it is not part of the Minister of State's brief because he is dealing specifically with the 4th Western Brigade's headquarters. It is appropriate that certain protocols be followed. There is a precedent for the procedures we operated when in government.