Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Defence the total receipts accruing from the various military installations closed down by his predecessors over the past number of years; the degree to which the anticipated value has been achieved by way of disposal or otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31724/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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On 15 July 1998 the then Government approved a programme of the closure and sale of six barracks considered surplus to military requirements. The barracks in question were located at Ballincollig, Fermoy, Naas, Castleblayney, Kildare, and Islandbridge, Dublin.The sale of 97 acres approximately at Murphy Barracks, Ballincollig was completed in 2003 for a total of €42 million. The bulk of the lands were purchased by O'Flynn Construction. The sale of a site comprising c.2.7 acres to the Southern Health Board for €1.73 million was completed in December 2004 and the sale of a further site comprising c.1.7 acres to the HSE South for a consideration of €1.1 million approximately was completed shortly thereafter. A half-acre site is being transferred to the Office of Public Works (OPW) for a consideration of €1.45 million to facilitate extension of the existing Garda Station located on Main Street, Ballincollig. As was agreed at the time of the closure and sale of Murphy Barracks, an area comprising approximately 27 acres of the property was transferred to Cork County Council for community use. An area comprising 19 acres approximately at the former Fitzgerald Camp, Fermoy, was sold to Cork County Council in 2001 for close to €1 million for economic development of the site in conjunction with the IDA.

Castleblayney Military Post, Co. Monaghan, comprising c. 10 acres, was sold to the North Eastern Health Board for €0.8 million approximately in 2002.

An area comprising 7 acres approximately at Devoy Barracks, Naas, Co. Kildare, was ceded free of charge to Naas Urban District Council, while a further 14 acres were sold to that authority for €8.9 million approximately. The balance of the Barracks lands - one acre - was sold to Kildare County Council for approximately €0.4 million in 2002. Clancy Barracks, Dublin, comprising 13.6 acres approximately, was sold to Florence Properties Ltd. for €25.4 million in 2004. The value of sales/disposals completed to date, in respect of the aforementioned five barracks is in the region of €80 million. The Government decided on 1st July 2003 that the former Magee Barracks in Kildare Town would be among the State lands released for inclusion in the Sustaining Progress Affordable Housing Initiative. On foot of this announcement Kildare County Council prepared a local area plan for the site, which encompassed a range of uses including community activities. However, in 2009, the local authority contacted the Department to state that it no longer wished to proceed with the development and had no interest in taking formal ownership of the property. The property will be disposed of by the Department, taking account of the market conditions, so as to maximise the return to the Defence Forces. In the Budget of October 2008 the closure of Longford and Monaghan Barracks, Rockhill House (Letterkenny), Lifford Military Post and St. Bricins Hospital Dublin was announced. The sale of Monaghan to the local VEC for €3.1m was completed on 24 August 2010 while the sale of part of Longford to the VEC for €0.95m was completed on 16 July 2010. The position with Lifford and Rockhill is that discussions are at an advanced stage with Donegal County Council on the basis of them acquiring both premises over a 3-4 year period. Longford County Council has expressed some interest in acquiring Connolly Barracks and discussions with the Council are at a preliminary stage in this regard.

The closure of St Bricin's Hospital was linked to the decentralisation programme. It cannot be progressed until issues arising from the cancellation of the transfer under that programme, of Defence Forces Headquarters to the Curragh, have been addressed.

The total realised to-date in terms of sales of surplus property is €84m approx. This, together with income from the sale of other smaller military properties and married quarters has been re-invested in providing equipment and infrastructure for the Defence Forces.