Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 July 2026
126. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Defence the improvements to Army barracks in Cork that have occurred in the past number of years; the work that has been carried out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54220/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Deputy for his question, and I am pleased to advise that in the past number of years my Department has spent almost €28m in improvement to military installations in Cork.
Recent years have seen investment of over €6.2m in Collins Barracks, including a New Accommodation Block, Upgrade of the Ablutions in Blocks 15 and 16, Refurbishment of the Infrastructure and Utilities Buildings and Personnel Support Services Resources Centre.
Haulbowline Naval Base has seen over €20m, including the upgrade of Block 4 and Block 8 Accommodation, Upgrade of the Oil Wharf, Storage and Maintenance Facility for 76mm Guns, Refurbishment of the Barracks Foreman of Works building and Units 50 and 51 and the Remediation of Spencer Jetty.
Fort Davis has seen over €1.2m including the New Storage Building and Administration Centre and Kilworth has seen over €0.3m investment in the Military Training Facility.
In addition, this year will see the completion of the office Block 9 in Haulbowline Naval Base and Block 1 accommodation in Collins Barracks, representing a total investment of over €14 million. Haulbowline will also see the completion of Phase 1 of a major dredging project to protect operational capacity at the base.
More widely, the capital expenditure for building works in military installations and barracks across the country for the last five years was some €170 million. This year the capital allocation stands at €69.5 million for capital investment. In addition, my Department also allocates funding each year to the Defence Forces for the maintenance, repair and upkeep of its building stock. This year a devolved budget of €13.5 million was assigned by my Department to the Defence Forces for these tasks.
