Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 355: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will outline in detail the oft-claimed savings that would accrue to his Department on the closure of Dún Uí Néill Military Barracks in Cavan town; the timeframe for his planned closure of the facility; the details of the planned transfer of the serving soldiers attached to Dún Uí Néill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39871/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As I have said previously annual savings in respect of utilities, security duty allowances and maintenance amount to approximately €1.3 million per annum in respect of the four barracks being closed. In relation to O' Neill Barracks Cavan these savings amount to approximately €0.35m based on the most recent figures available. In addition to the cost of utilities each barracks requires a security detail and additional further personnel are tied up on purely administrative duties connected to the management of the particular barracks. Because maintaining barrack security can require around the clock cover, a much larger pool of personnel is required. Therefore, several hundred additional man years will become available for operational duties. At a minimum, the value of this efficiency gain across the four locations will exceed €5 million per year. The consolidation of the Defence Forces formations into a smaller number of locations is a key objective in the ongoing defence modernisation programme and has been recommended in many reports over the past number of years. This was a key consideration of Government in addressing this issue as releasing personnel from security and support functions enables the operational capacity of the Defence Forces to be maintained notwithstanding the fall in strength.

O' Neill Barracks will close on 30th March 2012 with the personnel serving there being re-located to Custume Barracks, Athlone.