Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 349: To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to implement the recommendations of the interdepartmental task force on the future management and development of the Curragh, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40125/09]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for Defence his views and his plans to address the concerns expressed in correspondence from a group (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40430/09]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 349 and 352 together.

On 21 July 2004 the Government approved the Heads of a Bill in order to implement the recommendations arising from the Inter-Departmental Task Force Report. Drafting of the legislation commenced shortly thereafter. In the course of that process, certain strategic, procedural and technical issues arose relating to the role of the proposed Statutory Authority.

The main technical issue relates to the demarcation of roles between the Minister and the Authority. This concerns the use of lands by the Defence Forces that would be the responsibility of the proposed Authority but over which the Minister is the final arbiter in the event of any dispute. This potentially raises a conflict between the role of the Minister as the Minister with responsibility for the Defence Forces and the Minister's role as head of the Department under whose aegis the Authority would operate.

Further issues have arisen in the context of value for money considerations. The establishment of the Authority as a separate agency under the aegis of my Department would involve additional costs in terms of staff, accommodation, expenses and payments to members of the Authority, which would be significantly greater than the costs incurred by my Department currently in administering the Curragh Lands. Deputies will be aware that the Government has targeted the rationalisation of State agencies as a key cost saving measure. In that context it would be inappropriate and, indeed, costly to establish a separate agency to manage work currently being done successfully, efficiently and economically by the staff in my Department. Given the requirements of administrative efficiency, and the technical issues raised in relation to the role of the Minister as the final arbiter in disputes relating to the use of the Curragh Lands, I have decided not to proceed with the establishment of the Authority, which was a primary focus of the Bill.

The way forward now will involve a review by my Department of the varying usage of the lands by a range of different interests in the Curragh, not least the Defence Forces, with a view to establishing how these can be best accommodated and managed within the existing administrative framework and within existing resources. The Value for Money review of the Defence Forces Training Lands, which is nearing completion, will also feed into this process. The question of the requirement for legislation to address any other issues in relation to the Curragh Lands can then be examined in this context. This work will proceed as resources allow, given the competing demands on the Department's staff and resources and the need to prioritise issues and allocate reducing resources to the core Defence policy and operational issues.