MINISTER FOR DEFENCE Alan Shatter has given his clearest signal yet that Army barracks are likely to close.

Mr Shatter told the Dáil last night “there are few opportunities to trim defence spending without impacting on front-line delivery”.

Without identifying any individual barracks, he said: “It is self-evident that concentrating personnel in fewer locations provides the potential to protect essential collective training and reduce unnecessary overheads in terms of barrack management, administration, maintenance and security. It also affords me the possibility of maintaining the Defence Forces at their current level of approximately 9,500,” the strength the Defence Forces were at in 1970.

Since 1998, €84.98 million “has been realised from the disposal of six of the barracks closed by Fianna Fáil-led governments”.

Agreement in principle has been reached to dispose of two more of these.

Mr Shatter was responding to a Private Members’ motion introduced by Fianna Fáil defence spokesman Dara Calleary opposing the closure of barracks in Cavan, Mullingar, Clonmel, Kilkenny, Castlebar and “any further Army barracks across the country”.

Mr Shatter said “the implication of this motion is that we should conduct the comprehensive review of expenditure on the basis that the taxpayer should continue to invest in something that is not required”.

Mr Calleary had criticised the Minister’s failure to make a decision that had left 500 Army families in limbo. He said there was nothing inconsistent about the party’s approach to the closure of barracks. When in government, Fianna Fáil closed barracks “because of the transformed security situation on this island as a result of the peace process”, and the €85 million from the sale of barracks was invested back to make the Defence Forces one of the most modern in Europe.

He said that experience showed the current number of barracks at 18 was an optimal number.

Mr Calleary warned that the Government would have to pay extra travelling allowances, invest in other barracks to accommodate them and still have a significant security and maintenance bill for the barracks that were closed.

The Minister said that “the legacy we inherited is so dreadful that no area of expenditure can be excluded from review”.

He could not exclude barracks from the spending review.

“Let me be quite clear. Unless we prioritise the resources available to the Defence Forces into the appropriate areas, we will not be able to send troops overseas in the future because they will not have the appropriate equipment and training.”