Cavan VEC has bought the local former O’Neill Army barracks for €1.25 million to develop as an educational centre.
The barracks was closed, with a number of others throughout the State, as a cost-cutting measure last March. Some 136 personnel from the A Company were redeployed to Athlone.
A spokesman for Cavan VEC said yesterday that the building would be used as a campus for further education and training. It would also be used extensively by the local community, he added.
“The VEC envisages that many elements of the present property will come into use in the coming weeks,’’ he added.
Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Defence Alan Shatter said the local community would benefit as a whole from the sale.
Following the announcement last November of the closures, Mr Shatter asked the department to contact other departments, various agencies and local authlorities seeking expressions of interest in acquiring any of the properties.
The aim was to have them bought for community purposes, with particular emphasis on job-creation measures.
“This approach is now bearing fruit,’’ said Mr Shatter.
It is understood that up to 1,000 students could be accommodated in the Cavan building when it is fully developed as an educational centre.
