Brian Stanley: Curragh's Empty Military Homes Must Be Reused

Question 71 The question I'm asking the Minister is in relation to the accommodation at the corridor, future uses for that. There's a lot of vacant homes there at the moment Minister. In this matter, there has been significant investment in the Defence Force's built infrastructure in recent years. The capital expenditure for building works in military installations and barracks right across the country for the last five years was approximately £170 million and for this year alone it's closer to £70 million. In particular, the development of accommodation for new recruits has been a key priority for the Department. In terms of the existing Defence Force residential housing stock in the Curragh camp of 104 residential units, 63 residential properties are uninhabitable. None of these properties can be brought up to a habitable standard without significant work and many were built prior to the introduction of building regulations. Consultants were commissioned to assess the condition of the Defence Force's vacant housing stock and indeed its suitability for conversion or refurbishment to provide for additional single living-in accommodation for Defence Force personnel. That consultancy reported its recommendations on refurbishment projects last year. My officials have since engaged with the Defence Forces to have those projects included in the existing infrastructure development programme and I'm advised that work is actively underway in relation to preparing the necessary tender documentation with a view to commencing a procurement process this year. There's currently an extensive programme of investment in accommodation for serving Defence Force personnel across all military installations. As I've said, since the launch of the infrastructure development plan in January 2020, numerous accommodation projects at a combined cost of approximately €49 million have been completed and that's provided 775 beds. The Deputy may also wish to know that there's a steady pipeline of accommodation projects being progressed and all of these are expected to significantly increase accommodation capacity in the coming years. And as I said earlier in one of my answers to a question, only last week I was in Holborn, our naval base in Cork, where we opened up accommodation for over 70 beds. State-of-the-art new accommodation, but in some of the older infrastructure, making sure that we protect our heritage, making sure that we protect our older buildings where possible, but making sure that our new recruits are living and operating in new and modern facilities. Thanks Minister for your answer and I take it from that that there's some progress. The concern is that you mentioned 63, my information is there could be up to 80 that are there, that are in a derelict state. There are soldiers travelling distances to work, a lot of people travelling from Leash. There's also retired soldiers, some of whom unfortunately wind up in housing difficulty situations. I think it's important that they're got back in use. I think that we can't have vacant homes of any kind lying empty in a crisis, in the housing crisis that we have at the moment. And I'm just wondering is there any liaison with the Department of Housing and Local Government as well on the issue? I would just say to you one thing about the consultants and the report and all of that. You know and I know that things can go wrong in the houses a lot over a long period of time. It's important that we have action on it, you know, they're empty houses, they're derelict houses. It's important that we move on and try and get them back into use. Minister? I absolutely agree we need action. We need to make sure that the money that we have allocated, all 1.7 billion euro of it, the money that's specific to accommodation that it's spent and that there's projects ready. Sorry? So I suppose again in terms of just this year alone we're up to 70 million euro that includes accommodation, but also dining facilities, new gym and overall critical infrastructure. So it's over 400 million I think in the coming years. What we need to make sure is that we have projects ready to go and that are lined up. As I said, 63 residential properties have been identified as uninhabitable. But maybe just to show the projects that are being progressed, you have refurbishment of Block 1 in Colin's Barracks, modular accommodation in Holborn, conversion of houses number 2 and 5 in Casement Aerodrome, refurbishment of Rowan Comm's Cadet Accommodation in Holborn, refurbishment of the Cadet's Mess Accommodation in Holborn, refurbishments of Block A, B, D, E and F in Stephen's Barracks. We have Cachalbrua Barracks, Curragh, again Gormanstown, the Curragh, Casement Aerodrome. These are all projects that are underway. And then on top of that if you look at the projects that have been completed to date, in Pearce Barracks, the Defence Force Training Centre in the Curragh, in Cachalbrua Barracks, Casement Aerodrome, McKee Barracks, Holborn. So it's a huge amount of work that has been done over the last number of years. And as I said, there's a huge number of projects currently underway. The Minister has outlined a reply in relation to a lot of different locations, barracks and naval bases etc. and I welcome that. But what I would say to you is that I want a particular focus. The issue at the Curragh is one that's of concern. This has gone on for a long, long time. The fact that over the past three or four decades, gradually these houses have fallen into disuse. I know that some of them might be a challenge in terms of that they were built in a different time. Some of them were built during the period of British rule. You know, 100 years ago or 120 or 130 years ago, housing standards weren't what they are now. But I would like to see... There's been a lot of talk in this House about upgrading houses and bringing old houses back into use. And there's a lot more technology there now. And I would like to see a particular focus. I know that you've outlined a wide range of works across the state there. But I would like to see a particular focus on the Curragh. The Curragh was the big army camp over the years. The big concentration in Kildare. A lot of people from Leishan. And I would like to see that particular target there, Minister. Look, I've been in the Curragh a number of times. I mean, it is synonymous with the Defence Forces. It is longstanding in terms of what it has provided and supported for Defence Force members for many, many years, including accommodation, training on the grounds itself. And so I want to do everything possible to invest in new infrastructure but also to bring what is derelict back into use and make sure that we're making best use of the infrastructure that we have there. And that's why you're seeing a significant amount of investment, not just in accommodation but more broadly in infrastructure across the Curragh and across all of the various different barracks and areas that I've mentioned. It's important to stress, I suppose, we have a Defence Forces infrastructure development plan and that set out the delivery of these projects from 2023, many of which I've mentioned have been delivered out to 2027. And the intention, obviously, with the new capital plan is to make sure that we have a new stream of works, that we have more projects that are ready to go. And that's, again, including projects like the one here in the Curragh so that as more, I hope, more funding comes on stream or as additional funding is added to our capital plan later on in the mid-term, that we'll have more projects ready to go and that we'll be able to continue that steady stream of investment.