Department fails to rule out closures

The Department of Defence has not ruled out further closures of Army barracks despite a Government minister's description of the proposed closure of Columb Barracks in Mullingar as an act of "crass stupidity" by Army chiefs.

Minister for Housing and Planning Willie Penrose issued his attack on the proposal when addressing a public meeting in Mullingar last night called by the wives and families of the 200 soldiers based in Columb Barracks and attended by about 300 people.

Mr Penrose said closure of the barracks would cost the local economy about €6 million annually and also accused the Defence Forces of an abysmal record in relation to trying to dispose of property. He has asked nine Cabinet ministers to oppose any closure, he added.

The meeting was called amid reports that senior Army officers have briefed soldiers to prepare for barracks closures within months.

Kate Madden, whose husband is based in Columb Barracks, said there was "a lot of anger and sadness" in the community concerning the feared closure which would lead to the troops being transferred to Custume Barracks in Athlone.

The soldiers' families were very concerned about the impact of the proposed closure on themselves and the local economy and a further protest march was being planned, she said. "This will affect the local shops, suppliers and charities because of all the fund-raising the lads do."

Gerry Rooney, general secretary of the soldiers representative association PDFORRA, said there was "no necessity" for the closure of any more barracks which would impose more hardship on troops already suffering pay and pension cutbacks.

In a statement, the Department of Defence said: "As of now, no decision has been made by the Government in relation to the future of any particular military installation."

It added: " However, various commissions, reports and studies back to the 1990s identified barrack closure as a fundamental requirement towards improving military effectiveness and efficiency. Since then there have been a number of consolidation programmes which have seen the number of barracks occupied by the Permanent Defence Force reduced from 34 to 23 today."

"The dispersal of Defence Forces personnel over an extended number of locations continues to be a major impediment to essential collective training and to releasing personnel for operational duties."

The statement said the Minister for Defence Alan Shatter, as was the case with all Government Departments, was actively reviewing all areas of expenditure for which the Department of Defence is responsible "to ensure the maximum benefit in the public interest from the use of resources".

The Minister wished to ensure that all decisions made and resources utilised were focused on "maximizing the capabilities of the Defence Forces and ensuring their continued operational excellence". He was also anxious to ensure, in so far as is possible, that the Government is not compelled by fiscal and budgetary constraints to effect any substantial reduction in the current number of personnel in the Defence Forces.