I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 to 197, inclusive, together.
Married quarters are provided for serving personnel of the Permanent Defence Force. The Department of Defence has no responsibility for the provision of accommodation for ex-members of the force or their families. Soldiers, on being discharged from the Permanent Defence Force, are obliged to vacate married quarters within a number of weeks of their discharge.
On 26 August 2002 the Department wrote to the occupiers of 54 quarters which were overheld and requested that they vacate the quarters in which they were residing. Officials of the Department have since then interviewed the persons concerned in order to establish the particular circumstances in each case. It is now the Department's intention to work with Kildare County Council, the statutory body responsible for housing, with a view to resolving the problem of overholding and it is hoped to meet with officials of the council in the near future in this regard. All options will be discussed with the council, including affordable housing, shared ownership and co-op housing schemes. Every effort will be made to ensure that the council offers assistance in all cases where the individuals are eligible for local authority housing and also grant applications for mortgages in cases where overholders have been offered sale of the quarters such as those at Orchard Park. Each case will be considered on its own merits and the Department will be in further contact with each of the individuals concerned in due course. In the interim no further action will be taken in the matter.
It is the practice of the military authorities to reallocate vacated quarters to serving personnel. There are no plans at present to demolish any married quarters in the Curragh Camp. It is long established practice to withhold the pensions of former soldiers who do not vacate married quarters on their discharge from the Defence Forces in order to cover the cost of overholding charges and damages to the property. However, it is also the practice for individuals to seek and be granted regular advances of pension. There are no cases in which entire pensions remain withheld.