The Mayor of Kilkenny David Fitzgerald has welcomed the news that Kilkenny’s James Steven’s Barracks is not on the list of barracks to be closed in coming months across the country.
On Tuesday the Cabinet voted to close military barracks in Cavan, Clonmel, Castlebar, and Mullingar. The Mullingar barracks will close at the end of March 2012.
Mayor Fitzgerald said: “This Government announcement secures the position of the historic city facility and retains jobs for our local economy.”
The news comes as the 105th Infantry Battalion depart on a peacekeeping mission to the Lebanon. Some 105 of these soldiers are based in James Stephen’s Barracks in Kilkenny.
Last week a review of the troops took place at Kilkenny Castle when the Minister of State Paul Kehoe visited the city to inspect the soldiers before they departed.
During his visit last week, the Minister would not confirm the safety of the Kilkenny barracks and therefore this week’s announcement was welcome news for Kilkenny soldiers.
Meanwhile there are some 500 soldiers affected by the decision to close the four barracks in Mullingar, Clonmel, Cavan, and Castlebar. They will be relocated to other barracks.
The 170 members of the 4th Field Artillery based at Columb Barracks, Mullingar, will now move to Athlone.
The overall strength of the Defence Forces has been reduced in recent decades, partly due to the peace dividend from the Northern Ireland peace process.
At the height of the Troubles in 1981 there were more than 15,000 serving troops. That figure declined gradually to 10,500 in 2000. Now there are about 9,500 - the lowest since 1972.
