Army barracks closures begin tomorrow

The series of army barracks closures announced in the Budget will begin tomorrow when troops march out of the military barracks…

The series of army barracks closures announced in the Budget will begin tomorrow when troops march out of the military barracks in Monaghan for the last time.

Last October the Government announced that it would close five military installations in order to rationalise its property portfolio and cut costs.

Lifford Military Post, Rockhill Military post in Letterkenny and Connolly Barracks in Longford will all close next week.

A date has not yet been set for the closure of the fifth military installation, St Bricin's Military Hospital in Dublin city.

The closure of the five facilities will affect up to 650 military personnel and 40 civilian staff. All personnel will be transferred to other barracks.

The 200 or so staff in the Monaghan barracks will be moved to Aiken Barracks in Dundalk.

Troops from the two Co Donegal barracks will be transferred to Finner Camp in Ballyshannon. Some 130 personnel in Longford will be moved to Custume Barracks in Athlone.

The closure of the barracks has been criticised by Pdforra, the association representing soldiers, and families of the soldiers involved.

Commenting on the decision in October, Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Dermot Earley said it may come as a disappointment to some of the personnel involved but it was important to note that there were no job losses.

Alison Healy

Alison Healy

Alison Healy is a contributor to The Irish Times