Mary Lou McDonald
Question:14 Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Defence the military properties he intends to sell in the future. [14021/12]
View answerWednesday, 14 March 2012
Questions (16)
Written answers
The Defence property portfolio is kept under review to ensure the most effective use of military resources having regard to the roles assigned by Government to the Defence Forces. As the Deputy is aware, on 15th November 2011, the Government approved a proposal from me to proceed with a further phase of consolidation of Defence Forces personnel into fewer locations with the closure of four barracks, Clonmel, Mullingar, Cavan and Castlebar. 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. This latest phase of consolidation will bring to fourteen the number of military barracks closed since 1998. A number of other smaller properties have also been identified as surplus to military requirements. Some of these have already been disposed of whilst others are in the process of being prepared for disposal. These mainly consist of married quarters and Reserve Defence Force premises. I can confirm that no further barracks closures are envisaged at this time.