Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 June 2014
128. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the extent to which all military installations decommissioned over the past 17 years have been disposed of or are otherwise in use to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26336/14]
View answerThe Department has been engaged on an ongoing programme of barrack consolidation since 1998. This programme has brought to fourteen the number of barracks closed during that time. To date nine of these barracks - Clancy (Dublin), Castleblaney, Ballincollig, Fermoy, Naas, Monaghan, Cavan, Castlebar and a large portion of Longford - have been sold. In relation to the remaining barracks agreement has been reached for the sale of Lifford barracks to Donegal County Council. Discussions had also been ongoing for a considerable period of time with the Council in relation to the sale of Rockhill House, however at a recent meeting with officials of the Department the Council was not in a position to give a firm commitment to acquiring the property at this stage. It is proposed therefore to dispose of the property by public auction within the next couple of months.
Discussions are at an advanced stage in relation to the sale of the former barracks in Clonmel to South Tipperary County Council and I expect that the sale will be finalised over the coming weeks. The remaining part of Longford has been reserved for sale to the Office of Public Works for the local Garda Síochána. Magee Barracks in Kildare and Columb Barracks in Mullingar remain the property of the Department of Defence. Columb Barracks is currently used by an Garda Síochána and the Customs Service for training purposes and a large part of the barracks has been licensed to Westmeath GAA Board for use as a potential centre of excellence. Discussions are at an advanced stage with the Board in relation to the possible lease of the whole facility and these discussions should be completed over the coming months.
In addition to the main barracks outlined above a number of other properties have also been identified as surplus to military requirements. A large number of these have already been disposed of whilst others are in the process of being prepared for disposal. These mainly consist of married quarters, Reserve Defence Force (RDF) premises and training lands.
