Vol. 441 No. 2
21 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Defence the plans, if any, he has to make the naval headquarters in Haulbowline, County Cork the administrative headquarters of the service in view of the Government's stated decentralisation policy; if a review of this nature has been carried out by the Defence Forces on the grounds of expediency and cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The vast majority of Naval Service personnel — about 950 — is based at Haulbowline. Only about 20 are based in Dublin — in order to facilitate liaison and co-operation with Defence Forces Headquarters staffs and other Dublin based agencies.
The overall structure and organisation of the Defence Forces including the Naval Service will be considered in the context of the review of the Defence Forces currently being carried out by the Efficiency Audit Group.
