Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 February 2017
40. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans for the Defence Forces in counties Cavan, Monaghan and the greater Border region in view of Brexit and the possible reintroduction of a hard Border; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7140/17]
View answer62. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to reintroduce a new Army barracks in counties Cavan, Monaghan or the greater Border region in view of Brexit and the possible reintroduction of a hard Border; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7139/17]
View answerCould the Minister of State please inform the House his plans for the Defence Forces in counties Cavan and Monaghan and the greater Border region in view of Brexit and the possible reintroduction of a hard Border, and if he will make a statement on the matter?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 62 together.
As part of a whole-of-Government approach, my Department is engaged in forward planning for the UK exit from the EU. While the nature of the Border will be decided during the course of the negotiations, it is this Government’s stated goal to try to ensure that the current on-island Border arrangements are maintained to the greatest extent possible.
Primary responsibility for the internal security of the State rests with the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána. Responsibility for the security aspect of Border control rests with An Garda Síochána, while the Revenue Commissioners have responsibilities relating to their particular mandate.
Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces in the White Paper on Defence is the provision of aid to the civil power which, in practice, means to provide assistance and support to An Garda Síochána when requested to do so. The Defence Forces also provide support to the Revenue Commissioners. The fact of a UK exit from the EU does not of itself give rise to additional border control requirements at this time.
The Defence Forces keep operational plans under constant review. There is ongoing close liaison between An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces regarding security matters and regular co-ordination and liaison meetings take place.
In recent years, a range of measures have been introduced in order to ensure that operational readiness and deployability of the Defence Forces are maintained to the greatest extent possible. These measures include barrack closures and the consolidation of three under-strength Army brigades into two revised Army brigades. This involved a redeployment of personnel from HQ and administrative posts into front-line operational units, which has improved the overarching capacity of the Defence Forces.
I am satisfied that the White Paper on Defence sets out an appropriate blueprint for the development of the Defence Forces. There are currently no plans to reintroduce Army barracks in counties Cavan, Monaghan or the greater Border region.
I am very concerned to read further reports on the reintroduction of a very hard Border, which differ from what the Government said in the Chamber. According to reports in the Irish Examiner, internal documents show the Government is preparing for a return to a hard Border in the wake of Brexit, including the return of full green and red channel checkpoints. This is very concerning for my constituency, Cavan-Monaghan, where we have no Army barracks and Garda numbers are completely stretched.
Today's report stated that the extent of the contingency plan revealed by the document is a stark contrast to the public statements by the Taoiseach to date that a move towards a hard Border would have very negative consequences for Ireland. The document appears to suggest a departure from the Government's stated strategy to date to ensure a continued free flow of trade on the island and the need to avoid a hard Border. What is the plan?
The Government wants the current arrangements to continue. As I stated in my reply, this is a part of the whole-of-Government approach. My Department is engaged in forward planning for the UK exit from the EU. I remind the Deputy that when the British Prime Minister was in Ireland a number of weeks ago, one of the top items on the agenda was a hard Border.
The Deputy referred to an article in the Irish Examiner that refers to customs checkpoints. It does not refer to the Defence Forces or An Garda Síochána being involved at a hard Border. It refers to customs and excise, which is a totally different conversation about trade between a member and a non-member of the European Union. I assure the Deputy that I met my counterpart in the UK after the Brexit vote and this is one of the issues I raised with him.
The Minister of State will have another opportunity.
Seven military barracks at Lifford, Rockhill in Letterkenny, Cavan, Cootehill, Monaghan, Castleblayney and Longford were shut down as part of the major reorganisation of the Defence Forces that begin in 2012. Most of these properties or sites have been sold on. Along the approximately 500 km of Border between Finner Camp in County Donegal and Aiken Barracks in Dundalk, there is no military barracks and only two infantry battalions, controlled from a headquarters in Rathmines in Dublin, man the entire Border area. In light of Brexit, are we adequately and properly prepared in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan? Both of our Army barracks have been closed and members are faced with travelling long distances for little money. Some of them have told me they have been forced to sleep in their cars due to the expense associated with their mortgages, providing for their families and travelling very long journeys to and from work. On top of all this, businesses and farmers are concerned. There are concerns about how PEACE funding will be affected and about the relations and wounds of the past that have taken so long to mend being ruptured.
I assure the Deputy that the Government has a comprehensive Brexit plan in place. Once Article 50 is triggered, I assure her that we will be very much involved in the negotiations. Let me state, however, that on the Defence Forces side, the consolidation of the Defence Forces formations into a smaller number of locations was a key objective in the ongoing defence modernisation programme. On 15 November 2011, the Government approved a proposal from the then Minister for Defence to proceed with a further phase of consolidation of Defence Forces personnel to fewer locations, with the closure of four military barracks including Dún Uí Néill Army Barracks in Cavan. In addition to the barracks at Cavan, barracks located at Castlebar in County Mayo, Clonmel and Mullingar were closed in March 2012.
Following the Government's decision, officials from my Department wrote to each Department, various agencies and local authorities seeking expressions of interest in the barracks. I assure the Deputy that my Department and I, as Minister of State with responsibility for defence, have our own Brexit plans in place, as has every other Department. It is a comprehensive plan with a whole-of-Government approach to it.
