asked the Minister for Defence if, having regard to the advantages of dispersing troops in modern warfare, it is proposed to close some Army barracks in Dublin.
49.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Army Barracks.
48.
asked the Minister for Defence if he will state in respect of Army barracks in Dublin city and county (i) the date of their erection, (ii) the accommodation provided, (iii) the acreage, (iv) the purposes for which they are now used, and (v) whether it is proposed to close or sell any of them as a consequence of modernisation and rationalisation.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 49 together.
Exact information is not available in my Department as to the dates of erection of Army barracks in Dublin city and county. The indications are that the oldest of them, Dún Uí Choileáin, dates from the early part of the eighteenth century. Aeradróm Mhic Easmuinn in Dublin county dates from 1918 but the majority of the buildings now there were not begun before 1939.
Particulars of the accommodation, acreage and present use are briefly as follows:—
(1) Dún Uí Choileáin has accommodation for 579 all ranks. Including buildings it contains about 19 acres, and six units of Na Buan Óglaigh and five units of An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil with their stores and equipment are at present based there.
(2) Dún Chnoc an Arbhair has accommodation for 133 all ranks. Including a church, married quarters, other buildings, a cemetery and the area of the 1916 Leaders' Graves, it contains about 19 acres, and one subunit of Na Buan Óglaigh is at present based there.
(3) Dún Mhic Fhlannchadha has accommodation for 408 all ranks. Including buildings it contains about 13½ acres and four units of Na Buan Óglaigh and one unit of an Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil are at present based there. In addition, it is the central depot for the ordnance equipment of Na Fórsaí Cosanta.
(4) Dún Mhic Aoidh has accommodation for 531 all ranks. Including a church, the Army Equitation School and other buildings, it contains about 45 acres. In addition to the Equitation School, five Army Directorates, the Army School of Cookery, the Army Canteen Board, four units of Na Buan Óglaigh and two units of An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil with their stores and equipment are at present based there.
(5) Dún Chathal Brugha has accommodation for 1,101 all ranks. Including a church, married quarters and other buildings, it contains about 50 acres, and five units of Na Buan Óglaigh, and one unit of An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil with their stores and equipment are at present based there.
(6) Dún Uí Ghríofa has accommodation for 254 all ranks. Including buildings, it contains about eight acres and two units of An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil are at present based there. About 75 per cent of the buildings are occupied by the Labour Court, some sections of Government Departments and, for the accommodation of homeless persons, the Dublin Health Authority.
(7) Aeradróm Mhic Easmuinn has accommodation for 366 all ranks. Including a church, officers' married quarters, hangars and other buildings, runways, marginal areas and overruns, it contains about 572 acres. It is the Headquarters of An tAer Chór and the Aer Chór Apprentice School is also located there.
I do not appreciate what the Deputy has in mind when he refers to rationalisation in the context of Army barracks but he will be aware that the accommodation in barracks is being continually improved within the limits of the provision made in the Vote for Defence.
In the matter of the location of troops regard must be had to peacetime as well as possible war-time functions. Apart from that, a condition precedent to the closing of any Army barracks in Dublin would be the provision of alternative accommodation elsewhere for the personnel, and, as appropriate, their families, stores and equipment involved. I am examining the position, but in view of the financial and service implications of any such step an early decision cannot be expected.