The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, has become the latest Fianna Fail Minister to decentralise staff based in Dublin to his own rural constituency. Under the Defence White Paper, which is currently before the Government, he intends to move the staff of about 30 in the Civil Defence headquarters in the Phoenix Park to his home town of Roscrea, Co Tipperary.
In addition, two sections of the military, based at Colaiste Caoimhin in Glasnevin, Dublin, are to be moved to Clonmel, Co Tipperary, the home town of Mr Smith's neighbouring Fianna Fail TD, Mr Noel Davern.
The two military sections are the directorate of reserve forces, with about 13 staff, and the directorate of training, with about 17 staff. Both are headed by officers with the rank of colonel. All the staff live in or around Dublin at present.
The decision to move the directorates was announced in Co Tipperary over a week ago, but attracted little attention during the controversy over the proposal by the Department of Defence to cut the Defence Forces staff from 11,500 to 10,500.
Little notice was paid to the proposals to the Government in the memorandum accompanying the draft White Paper. Point 10 of the memorandum proposes that the Government should "approve the decentralisation of the Civil Defence function, involving some 30 staff, to Roscrea, Co Tipperary."
In the draft White Paper, the Department of Defence proposes to hand over control of Civil Defence to the Department of the Environment. It is understood that in observations on the draft White Paper, the Environment Department has complained about a lack of consultation on the decision to move the Civil Defence headquarters.
There is also some surprise in the Defence Forces about moving the training and reserve directorates to Clonmel. The directorates will occupy offices in Kickham Barracks, Clonmel, which was seen as one of the barracks most likely to face closure in the event of any further rationalising of barracks and posts.
Kickham Barracks is in the Southern Brigade, whose main troop centres are Collins Barracks, Cork; Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick; and Stephens Barracks, Kilkenny. All three of these barracks are larger than Kickham and it had been expected that the smallest of the four barracks would be the first to face closure.
The increase in staff at Kickham, which houses two companies of about 200 soldiers, will bring its complement up to about 230. This narrows the gap in numbers with Stephens Barracks, Kilkenny, which houses the headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Battalion and has about 270 soldiers.
Earlier this month the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, announced the transfer of the National Disease Surveillance Centre from Dublin to Tullamore in his Laois/Offaly constituency. Last year, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, announced that he was moving the Civil Legal Aid Board from Dublin to his home town of Cahirciveen, Co Kerry.
The Opposition is to table motions in the Dail criticising the Government's handling of the White Paper and its proposals for cuts in the Defence Forces.
Fine Gael's defence spokeswoman, Ms Frances Fitzgerald, and Labour's Mr Jack Wall will table a private members' motion condemning the Minister for Defence.
Ms Fitzgerald said it was imperative that Mr Smith be forced to review the contents of the White Paper. "It is completely unacceptable that, at a time when Ireland's commitments to international peacekeeping duties are increasing, the Minister is happy to formulate future Defence Forces policy without recourse to the opinions of the Chief of Staff and his team, and apparently without any understanding of the real issues involved."