NO Army barracks should be closed without an action plan to cushion the local community against the loss of business and jobs, an Oireachtas committee has been told.

A delegation from the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) told the Select Committee on Legislation and Security that it believes eight barracks are likely to be closed as the Defence Forces are reorganised.

But the views of local communities and their elected representatives should be taken into account, said RACO's general secretary, Comdt Brian O'Keeffe.

Plans for closure should include "a fully integrated plan which provides for the involvement of other agencies, such as FAS, the Department of Social Welfare and the IDA, as appropriate," he said.

Comdt O'Keeffe said one of the most serious problems facing the Defence Forces is the age profile of officers. A surge in recruitment in the early 1970s means that "we now have over 500 of our Officer Corps, or 33 per cent, in the one age group of 35 to 43 and this has created a critical career blockage at the levels of captain and commandant".

A solution must be found to this blockage of promotion prospects, he said, or many of the best officers would be lost to the Defence Forces.