Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber and I appreciate that he is here given the importance of this Commencement matter. I rise to seek absolute clarity on the future of Cathal Brugha Barracks and the Irish Defence Forces. We are all aware of the outrageous tweet from the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, which came from left field and shocked all of us. Not only did it shock all of us in this House, it shocked the defence community throughout the country and none more so than in my native Kildare.

I come from a very strong Defence Forces area and we are honoured to be home to many phenomenal Defence Forces personnel and their families. We have the headquarters in Newbridge and a very fine military camp in the Curragh. They have added an immeasurable amount to our local communities over the years. I was fortunate to be there yesterday, as was the Acting Chairperson, Senator Wall, with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence which is undertaking a tour of military barracks and naval bases, which is good. We had the opportunity to engage with the General Officer Commanding, GOC, and other personnel on issues such as recruitment and retention.

While I accept that he represents the constituency in which Cathal Brugha Barracks is situated, for a Minister who has no military or defence portfolio to take to Twitter and essentially announce the closure of the barracks with no forewarning or forward planning was an insult to the personnel that serve and the families that live there, and to the entire Defence Forces. There is no doubt we have a significant issue with housing which is a priority for the Government. I absolutely accept that and that is how it should be, but we also need to have Defence Forces that are up to full capacity and capability. A balance has to be struck.

I have no doubt there could be negotiation and if the idea was presented to those in Cathal Brugha Barracks of an alternative functioning, state-of-the-art barracks, it possibly would be considered. However, the notion that we would close down such a significant military structure as the city of Dublin's finest barracks, especially in the year of the centenary of Michael Collins and the treaty, beggars belief.

A Minister having such disregard for our defence families is unacceptable and I hope we get a response from the Minister, Deputy Coveney, that will go some way towards healing the wound and give us clarity and hope for the way forward. What is the future of Cathal Brugha Barracks? Will it remain fully operational? Are there plans for the closure of the barracks? Are there plans for a new barracks? Will there be an apology to the defence community throughout the country for the disrespect shown by the haphazard attempt at this announcement?

I briefly mentioned recruitment and retention. Over the past two years, the way the defence community has responded to needs throughout the pandemic has been top class. That has increased the morale among the Defence Forces where morale had been extremely low for a number of years. The geopolitical area we are in with regard to Russia has again brought the Defence Forces right to the heart and forefront of all we do in this country.

They deserve our support. It is a wonderful career, as was pointed out to us yesterday. However, the fact that men and women are not going forward and are leaving, and that the Defence Forces are very short of trainers to be able to recruit, leads to the suggestion that not enough supports are put in place to make it an attractive career in which to stay or to recruit. The Minister needs to address that.