The closure of Army barracks in Ballincollig and Fermoy in Co Cork, with the resulting transfer of over 280 personnel, could have serious repercussions for both towns, local traders' representatives warned yesterday.
According to an Army spokesman, there are 150 personnel in the 1st Field Artillery Regiment based in Murphy Barracks, Ballincollig, and 130 with the First Calvary Squadron at Fitzgerald Camp in Fermoy.
It is understood troops based in Ballincollig are to be transferred to Collins Barracks in Cork city - around five miles away - while those based in Fermoy are to be transferred to nearby Lynch Camp in Kilworth and Collins Barracks in Cork.
According to business estimates, the camps contribute significantly to the economy of both towns, injecting around £2 million a year into Ballincollig and £1.5 million into Fermoy in wages and the purchases of services and supplies. The chairman of Ballincollig Business Association, Mr Henry McDonagh, said news of the closure had come as "a bombshell".
Ballincollig county councillor Mr Derry Canty (FG) said the decision to close Murphy Barracks marked a complete U-turn by the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, as only four months ago he gave written assurances that the barracks would not be closed.
"It's like a knife gone through the town. The mood of people is very sombre and very depressed. They just can't believe it's happening. It's like the closure of a factory," said Cllr Canty.
Fermoy business representatives were equally apprehensive, with Independent UDC member and chairman of Fermoy Enterprise Board Cllr Michael Hanley accusing Mr Smith of delivering a body blow to the town.
"The bottom line is that Minister Smith has closed Fermoy's oldest industry. We won't be blinded by any offers regarding Lynch Camp. No plans for the development of Lynch Camp have been shown to the local community, so that's a cop-out," he said.
Fermoy Business Association chairman Mr Jim Bermingham said many people were hoping all staff would be moved to Kilworth. "We don't know how many are going to Kilworth. If Kilworth is going to be developed, it would take some of the sting out of it.
"We've had the Army here going back to the early 1800s. The Army is part and parcel of the social and cultural life of the town," Mr Bermingham said. Fermoy UDC chairman Cllr John Dunlea (FF) said he would like to see IDA Ireland take over the barracks as an industrial area.
Cllr Joe Sherlock (DL) said he couldn't understand "how we can say we have a booming Celtic Tiger economy when at the same time we're doing this to the economy of a town like Fermoy".