Vol. 465 No. 6
315 Mr. Bree asked the Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to the fact that barrack foremen in the area of the Western Command have been advised that his Department intends to close the Engineering Maintenance Department in all barracks in the Western Command during the next 18 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10153/96]
The Deputy's question may arise from possible civilian employee concern or speculation about the impact of the Defence Forces Review Implementation Plan (Phase I), copies of which have been issued to all Deputies.
I would like to repeat the content of my recent reply to an earlier parliamentary question where I drew attention to the fact that the review plan states in Chapter 6 on "Building, Maintenance and Furnishing" that—
"The maintenance of military installation buildings will continue to be undertaken by existing civilian employee maintenance staffs for the Barrack commander... The evaluation of alternative means of maintaining barracks will be examined during Phase I."
Of relevance also is the "Civilianisation" section of Chapter 8 (Special Studies) of the Implementation Plan which includes the statement that—
"There is a need for a detailed study to examine the role and deposition of all civilian personnel under the new arrangements. This will be carried out during the phase one plan and will be undertaken in conjunction with a study to identify areas where tasks undertaken by military personnel under the new arrangements might be civilianised or contracted out."
