Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2024
9. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if further consideration will be given to the re-opening of Dún Uí Néill, Cavan, as a forward operating base as that region has a long land border with a neighbouring jurisdiction (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22083/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra50. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if, in view of the lack of an Army barracks in the central Border area, further consideration will be given to the re-opening of Dún Uí Néill, Cavan, as an Army barracks, given the recommendation in the Commission on the Defence Forces that the structure of the Army be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22084/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI spoke to the Tánaiste previously about the opportunity that exists to provide much-needed additional accommodation for our Army. Unfortunately, the most modern army barracks in Europe, which opened in 1990, was closed in 2012. As the Tánaiste knows, Dún Uí Néill is centrally situated in the Border region. The next Army barracks, Aiken Barracks, is to the east, in Dundalk, and there is also Finner Camp, County Donegal. Therefore, a large tract of the Border area does not have an Army barracks. In view of the geopolitical situation and the security assessment, the Minister must urgently consider the reopening of Dún Uí Néill, first as a forward operating base and then as a full Army barracks.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 50 together.
I thank the Deputy. I am aware he has raised this before. As he knows, the Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the programme for Government and the Government decision in December 2020 that agreed to its terms of reference and membership. The report was published on 9 February 2022. The Commission undertook a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and defence provision in Ireland.
It covers high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding.
In July 2022, the Government approved a high-level action plan in response to the commission report. As part of this, approval was given for a move, over a six-year period, to a level of Defence Forces’ capability equivalent to level of ambition 2, LOA 2, as set out in the capability framework devised by the commission, which will entail funding increases to reach a defence budget of circa €1.5 billion by 2028 through the annual Estimates process.
Implementation structures have been put in place, including an implementation oversight group and a high-level steering board, to support the implementation of the overall transformation programme required to implement recommendations from the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. There are a number of recommendations contained in the report which may impact on the structure of the Defence Forces, including that the structure of the Army be reviewed and in that context, the disposition of units across the Defence Forces may be considered.
The recommendation that the structure of the Army be reviewed was identified as an early action in the high-level action plan. However, no decisions on the future disposition or locations of Defence Forces formations, installations and personnel have been made at this time. As I said earlier, military authorities have established an office of Army force design, which will undertake the significant work required to give effect to this recommendation.
To be frank with the Deputy, there are no plans to consider the Dún Uí Néill site in Cavan as a forward operating base but it is a matter I will discuss further with military leadership and my Department. I believe the site is currently used by the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board. Given the wider recruitment issues, it is a matter on which I will reflect.
I thank the Tánaiste for his reply and welcome the fact that this suggestion will be considered. The education and training board only uses part of that site. I cannot emphasise enough that it was the most modern barracks in Europe, officially opened in 1990. I represented Cavan-Monaghan during the bad days when this island was in the era of the Troubles. We can never overestimate the important work that was carried out in our Army barracks and by Army personnel in dealing with difficult situations. Unfortunately, paramilitarism has not gone away entirely. We have a long land Border. A person would need no military experience to see clearly on a map that there is a lacuna with regard to military installations along the Border on this island. There is Finner Camp in the north west and Aiken Barracks in the north east but nothing in the central Border region.
I know, from interacting with Army personnel in Dún Uí Néill over the years, the importance of their work and the knowledge they accrued. It was important when we faced animal diseases and there was a virtual closedown of movement across the Border. There is a ready-made military facility there. It could be put back into use in a short period of time.
In response to questions from my colleague, Deputy Troy, the Tánaiste spoke about the structure of the Defence Forces. He also said that by 2028, we need 11,500 enlisted personnel. They will need accommodation.
I again thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The focus has obviously been on enhancing recruitment but I take on board what the Deputy has said about the physical quality of the barracks in Cavan. I will ensure his advocacy for the barracks as a forward operating base will be fed into the process. That is something I will do and I will revert to the Deputy.
I thank the Tánaiste. We have discussed in this House the fact that Cavan has a long and proud Army tradition. There has been stronger recruitment in areas where there is an Army barracks. Unfortunately, we are losing that attachment and that number of young people who went into the Army that we had in the past. I know the Tánaiste met some local members of the Permanent Defence Force, good friends of mine, who were recently in the Golan Heights. We still have an Army tradition but it is not as strong as I would like. To improve recruitment and retention, another Army barracks that is taking in personnel from its immediate catchment area would help to boost necessary recruitment. We all want 11,500 members to be enlisted by 2028 but that is only four years away and we are now at 7,500. Our Army will need 1,000 new recruits each year and they will need proper accommodation. Such accommodation is available in Dún Uí Néill in Cavan town and I appeal to the Tánaiste to start by establishing it as a forward operating base.
The Deputy has advocated strongly. I do not want to raise expectations too high. The consolidation of barracks created benefits in terms of the operational readiness and deployability of Defence Forces personnel. The military would argue that consolidation has improved that readiness. However, the Deputy's point about the link between recruitment and military tradition through the presence of a barracks is well made and should not be dismissed. It is something I have picked up myself. One only has to meet a deployment to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, and I have met a number. If one asks where people are from, there is a strong correlation between the presence of barracks and a military, family and community tradition. That is an important point and it is something of which I am conscious. People might worry about any venture to set up a new base in a barracks in Cavan because there may be operational deficiencies and so on but the Deputy's point was well made.
If we look at the Naval Service, speaking as a Corkman, I note the naval base in Haulbowline is in place but there is an argument that we have 1.5 million people living in the capital city, where that maritime and naval tradition has not existed to the same extent. We must balance all the variables.
