Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 18 Jun 2002

Vol. 553 No. 2

Written Answers. - Defence Forces Property.

John Bruton

Ceist:

167 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Defence the financial mechanism whereby it is intended to fulfil the commitment in the Programme for Government that 100% of revenue from property sales will be invested in infrastructure and equipment by the Defence Forces; if the receipts in this regard will be paid into a special fund rather than into the Exchequer; and if infrastructure and equipment investment in the Defence Forces will depend on prices obtained for property sold currently being used by the Defence Forces. [13439/02]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

Receipts from the sale of properties surplus to military requirements are treated as Extra Exchequer Receipts with a corresponding increase in expenditure under the Defence Vote. This expenditure is additional to the normal level of investment in equipment and infrastructure.

Five of the six barracks, the closure of which was announced in 1998, have either been sold or are in the process of being sold. A number of other properties have also been identified as being surplus to military requirements. Total revenue from these sales is expected to be in the region of €100 million with the bulk of the revenue expected to be received later this year or in 2003.

In anticipation of the receipt of revenue from property sales, substantial additional money has been provided in the Defence Estimate over the past few years. This has resulted in an unprecedented level of investment in equipment and infrastructure in the Defence Forces.