Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 March 2024
18. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence what progress has been made to date in respect of current accommodation projects being carried out by his Department to accommodate members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13076/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline the recent and planned future improvements to Defence Infrastructure throughout the State which is unparalleled in our history. There are currently over €147m worth of IDP projects underway at different stages of development, many of which are specific to addressing operational and living-in accommodation requirements.
The Defence Forces Infrastructure Development Plan sets out a programme of project delivery for the years 2023 to 2027. The Programme reflects the complex environment in which the Defence Forces operate and the corresponding need for appropriate infrastructure to provide for accommodation and training of personnel, maintenance and storage of equipment for land, sea and airborne operational requirements. The required infrastructure, as one would expect, ranges from single living in accommodation, to training and messing facilitates up to bespoke ammunition depots, aircraft hangers and berthage facilities.
That being said on becoming Minister for Defence, I made it very clear to my officials and senior military management that I wanted to see accommodation projects identified in the Plan prioritised and delivered on as a top priority. To that end, I am pleased to advise the Deputy that there are ten accommodation projects with a combined value of €46m, which are now completed or currently under construction to provide 565 bed space. These building projects are in several locations across all the military installations.
In addition to those completed projects, a further seven will come on stream in the coming months to provide a further 370 bedspaces. Taken together this represents a significant provision in additional Single Living in Accommodation capacity over and above the 4,500 places currently within all the military installations.
