Vol. 749 Tuesday, No. 4 13 December 2011 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DÁIL ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Dé Máirt, 13 Nollaig 2011. Ceisteanna — Questions Minister for Defence Priority Questions …………………………… 461 Other Questions …………………………… 468 Leaders’ Questions ……………………………… 477 Ceisteanna — Questions (resumed) The Taoiseach ……………………………… 485 Order of Business ……………………………… 508 Topical Issue Matters ……………………………… 516 Topical Issue Debate Medical Cards ……………………………… 517 Mental Health Services …………………………… 519 Departmental Properties …………………………… 523 Educational Disadvantage ………………………… 525 Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second Stage …………… 530 Private Members’ Business Rural Areas: Motion …………………………… 554 Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second Stage (resumed)……… 576 Questions: Written Answers …………………………… 589 DÁIL ÉIREANN ———— Dé Máirt, 13 Nollaig 2011. Tuesday, 13 December 2011. ———— Chuaigh an Leas-Ceann Comhairle i gceannas ar 2 p.m. ———— Paidir. Prayer. ———— Ceisteanna — Questions Priority Questions ———— Army Barracks 49. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Defence the cost saving on a per barrack basis for his decision to close barracks at Mullingar, Clonmel, Cavan and Castlebar; the capital requirements on a per barrack basis for those barracks to which the affected soldiers will be reassigned; the projected costs of securing each of the four barracks when they are empty; the amount of travel allowances that are payable to those affected soldiers; if he will outline any other payments that are payable on foot of his decision to close these barracks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38808/11] 50. Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Defence if he has conducted a cost analysis of the closure of Defence Force barracks across the State including the impact of the closure on local communities and additional costs of relocation of Defence Force members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38905/11] 51. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Defence the reason a decision was made to close Kickham Barracks, Clonmel, County Tipperary, which is 83 kilometres from Sarsfield Barracks, County Limerick, with no motorway access as opposed to Stephen’s Barracks, County Kilkenny, which is 81 kilometres from the Curragh, County Kildare, with 67 kilometres of that journey being motorway, when both barracks were deemed to be of equal strategic importance; in the event of the closure of Kickham Barracks, the arrangements that are in place to ensure that the existing army reserve units will maintain a training base in Clonmel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39829/11] Minister of State at the Department of Defence (Deputy Paul Kehoe): I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter, who is unable to take questions today. He is attending a European Council meeting on behalf of the Department of Justice and Equality. I propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 50 and 51 together. 461 Priority 13 December 2011. Questions [Deputy Paul Kehoe.] The consolidation of the Defence Forces formations into a smaller number of locations is a key objective in the ongoing defence modernisation programme and has been recommended in many reports in recent years. This was a key consideration of Government in addressing this issue as releasing personnel from security and support functions enables the operational capa- city of the Defence Forces to be maintained notwithstanding the fall in strength. The savings that will arise in respect of utilities, security duty allowance and maintenance will be approximately €0.4 million in respect of Mullingar, €0.4 million in respect of Clonmel, €0.35 million in respect of Cavan and €0.1 million in respect of Castlebar. In addition to the cost of utilities each barracks requires a security detail and additional further personnel are tied up on purely administrative duties connected to the management of the particular barracks. In addition, because maintaining barrack security can require around the clock cover a much larger pool of personnel is required. Consequently, several hundred additional man years will become available for operational duties. At a minimum, the value of this efficiency gain across the four locations will exceed €5 million per year. Expenditure at the receiving barracks is an estimated €1 million to provide immediate accom- modation, including some temporary measures. A further €3 million to €4 million will be required for permanent works in the next two to three years. In Custume Barracks in Athlone there is sufficient accommodation to provide for personnel relocating from the barracks in Cavan and Mullingar who choose to live in barracks on a single living-in basis. Mess, dining and other welfare facilities will also be available to these personnel from existing facilities at Custume Barracks. Work-related accommodation will also be put in place before personnel relocate. There are no plans for providing extra accommodation in Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick. However, it is expected there will be a requirement for the provision of additional locker facilities at an estimated cost of €50,000. There will be no requirement for expenditure in Stephens Barracks, Kilkenny, as personnel relocating there will be filling existing vacancies. Alternative arrangements for Reserve Defence Force units located at the closing barracks has not yet been finalised but will be put in place before 30 March 2012. Defence Forces regulations provide for the payment of certain allowances to qualifying per- sonnel on change of station. The allowances payable depend on the individual circumstances of each applicant. In general, prescribed travel allowances may be paid for up to nine months. There is also provision in the regulations to cover certain costs, such as auctioneers and legal fees incurred by qualifying personnel who purchase a house at their new station. As the allow- ances payable will be based on individual circumstances it is not possible to say what the final costs will be. However, based on the 2009 barracks closures 326 qualifying personnel in the four locations that closed received some €677,000 in total in change of station allowances, an average of €2,077 per person. It is likely that the average change of station allowance payment per qualifying person will be of the same order on this occasion. The Department of Defence is arranging for the briefing of personnel in respect of change of station allowance in the coming weeks. The purpose of these briefings is to give an outline of the change of station allowance scheme to the relevant personnel and to address, in so far as possible, any issues of concern that may arise. Once they become vacant the four barracks being closed will be administered by the Depart- ment which will be responsible for security pending disposal. An assessment of the security requirement will be carried out in advance of the closures and appropriate measures put in place. The Deputy will appreciate that I should not go into details at this stage. Based on the experience of previous closures, it is anticipated the impact on local communi- ties will be negligible. This is based on the experience that most of the personnel serving in these installations live in the areas and will continue to do so in the future. 462 Priority 13 December 2011. Questions Deputy Dara Calleary: These closures will have potential savings of just over €1 million in direct costs and what the Minister of State defined as an efficiency gain, for which there is no way of quantifying, of €5 million. The costs of moving the barracks and personnel, on the other hand, will involve €4 million in capital costs required in the other barracks. An allowance for soldiers to move will come to €700,000. This does not include the security costs which I appreci- ate the Minister of State cannot give in his reply. In the long term, this will come to more than the so-called anticipated efficiencies. Have any other potential uses for the properties in Cavan, Mullingar, Clonmel and Castlebar been identified? Has the Department been in touch with local authorities in identifying the sites for, say, community uses or as enterprise centres? What is the timeline for the closure of the barracks in question? DúnUí Néill in Cavan, Columb in Mullingar and Kickham in Clonmel were worth €22 million combined to their three towns. Of this amount, how much does the Department estimate will be lost to the three towns in question? Deputy Paul Kehoe: The potential savings are €5 million per year. This is not just about money savings but making the Defence Forces more professional. The number of full-time personnel in the Defence Forces has dropped considerably over the past several years. The Government made a commitment in the programme for Government and in last week’s budget that personnel levels will be maintained at 9,500. The closure of these barracks will release some personnel from other duties. As I stated in my reply, if one wants 24-seven barrack security, it can tie up quite a number of soldiers to perform it in rotation. The redeployment to other barracks will release more man hours and allow for these duties to be performed more efficiently. When personnel levels were at 14,000, it was easy to keep these barracks open. The Government had to make a decision on this and did so. The Minister for Defence met several delegations prior to the closures, often for up to two hours, on future potential uses of the barrack sites in question. The Minister’s priority is not to have these sites left idle. As I said in my reply, most personnel stayed in their existing accommodation when barracks were closed by the Deputy’s party in government. I do not believe the closures will result in a huge revenue loss to any town.