Relocation of department 'institutional vandalism'

MINISTER FOR Defence Tony Killeen does not know the cost of the decentralisation of his department or of the relocation of its military communications centre, the Dáil has heard. Mr Killeen said, however, that the cost was an issue for the OPW.

He told Fine Gael defence spokesman David Stanton that “responsibility for the accommodation of the Department of Defence lies with the Office of Public Works”. Mr Stanton described as “institutional vandalism” the relocation of the department from Park House at Parkgate Street in Dublin “where Pádraig Pearse signed the order to surrender” during the 1916 Rising.

The department’s Dublin-based Civil Service employees are relocating from Parkgate Street to Newbridge, Co Kildare, along with the chief of staff, deputy chiefs of staff and other military personnel. Their relocation is expected to be completed by November 8th.

Mr Killeen said the move “accounts for the fact that I have some difficulty gathering information related to parliamentary questions. Much of the key information is in crates that are on their way to Newbridge”. During Dáil question time Mr Stanton asked if the Parkgate Street property would be “retained in military hands” and if the Minister realised the “historical importance of the building”.

The Cork East TD called on the Minister to work to retain the property in the possession of the department. Mr Killeen said the OPW “owns the property. I understand it has plans for the location of other personnel there.”

Mr Stanton suggested the Minister was implying “it’s somebody else’s problem”.

The Minister said the military communications system “which is a considerable infrastructure”, will remain at Parkgate Street “for the moment”. The second phase of decentralisation has been postponed because of the recession. The communications centre “is not something that can be moved overnight”. Large elements of it must be recreated to facilitate its transfer, Mr Killeen said.

“You can’t be serious,” Mr Stanton replied and asked the cost of the relocation of the centre and its 50 staff. The Minister said “the cost is being dealt with by the OPW. It’s not as large as you might think but it’s an issue being dealt with by the OPW.” Asked if it was “millions of euro”, the Minister replied “I don’t know the figures involved.” But he insisted that “for very good reasons it is desirable to have the communications centre located in exclusively military surroundings”.

Mr Stanton said for that reason it should not be moved. The Minister said Parkgate Street would not meet the military criterion in the future, especially if another department was located there. Mr Stanton said “somebody else” wanted the Parkgate Street property and he described the decentralisation of the department as “institutional vandalism”.

Sections of the department including finance, internal audit, human resources and parts of its information technology branch have already relocated to Co Galway. The military sections moving to Newbridge include strategic planning, finance, litigation, press office, conciliation and arbitration, legislation and a component of military information communications and technology.