John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator. I assure her that the Tánaiste is committed to radically overhauling the built environment for the Defence Forces throughout the country. The historical importance of the Curragh Camp to many members of the Defence Forces, their families and the wider local community is fully understood. In that context, several capital works are ongoing at the Curragh Camp training centre, at various stages of construction, tender procurement, design and planning. These form part of the Defence Forces infrastructure development plan, which sets out a programme of project delivery for the years 2023 to 2027. Through that, the Department is investing some €50 million in national Defence Forces infrastructure, with a further €12.5 million being provided to the Defence Forces on a fully delegated basis to maintain the current building stock.

I emphasise that the future master planning exercise will be important in identifying future uses for the buildings the Senator referred to and in ensuring we have modern fit-for-purpose infrastructure for members of our Defence Forces, who serve our country with distinction day in, day out.