Families facing eviction by the Department of Defence from houses at the Curragh military base in Co Kildare have been angered by comments made by the Minister for Defence last night.
In an interview, Mr Michael Smith referred to the occupancy of Defence Forces' accommodation by families with no serving officer in the household as "a boil that had to be lanced".
He said: "The Department has been very patient and incredibly generous," and added the majority could afford alternative accommodation. Mr Smith said he was concerned that they were living rent-free at the State's expense.
But the families have disputed the Department's claim that they do not pay rent. They claim most are "overholders" and that the occupant's pension has been stopped while living in army accommodation.
Fifty-four families are living in the terraced "married quarters", where some have lived for 20 years. A spokesman for the Department of Defence said the situation was an anomaly as on all other bases army personnel moved out of the accommodation when they retired.
The families face forcible eviction within three weeks. The Department says they have no legal right to occupy the buildings. Many of the residents are retired soldiers, who were told they would have to move out when they left the Army but never did so.
Eleven houses will offered for sale to their current occupiers with the rest being reallocated to servicing officers.
The Defence Forces representative body, PDFORRA, said there were a number of hardship cases with a number of families on very low incomes. A PDFORRA spokesman said legal action to challenge the evictions may be considered.
According to a Department of Defence spokesman, €100,000 in unpaid ESB bills was also owed.