Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 437: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will confirm having received a detailed plan and economic approval of the decision to close Connolly Barracks in Longford which demonstrates the fact that the plan to pursue the closure is not soundly based from an economic perspective with no savings accruing to the Exchequer; if he will postpone the decision to close the said barracks pending a comprehensive economic and financial review of the decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42407/08]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The decision to close a number of barracks was made in the context of the budget and was announced in the budget statement by my colleague the Minister for Finance, Mr Brian Lenihan T.D. While the decision was made in the context of realising savings in the Defence budget, the decision was not purely a financial one.

The closure of barracks and the consolidation of the Defence Forces formations into a smaller number of locations is a key objective of the White Paper on Defence. The consolidation process is designed to facilitate collective training and improved training standards, while also freeing up under-utilised resources and personnel for operational duties. The dispersal of personnel over an extended number of locations is a major impediment to essential collective training. It also imposes increased and unnecessary overheads on the Defence Forces in terms of barrack management, administration, maintenance and security. The current plan has been put together in close consultation and cooperation with the Defence Forces General Staff. It provides an overall package that will serve the needs of the Defence Forces into the future.

A detailed cost benefit was compiled by the Department on the overall package of consolidation proposals. I am fully satisfied that the proposals are justified on cost grounds, on the contribution which receipts from the sale of the properties will make to Defence Forces equipment and infrastructure funding and on the basis of the qualitative benefits accruing in terms of Defence Forces training.