Departmental Properties
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
============================================================

Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. There has been significant investment in the Defence Forces built infrastructure in recent years. The capital expenditure for building works in military installations and barracks across the country for the past five years was approximately €170 million, and for this year alone is close to €70 million. In particular, the development of accommodation for new recruits has been a priority for the Department.
In terms of the existing Defence Forces 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 Forces vacant housing stock and its suitability for conversion or refurbishment to provide for additional single living-in accommodation for Defence Forces 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. I am advised that work is actively under way to prepare the necessary tender documentation, with a view to commencing a procurement process this year.
There is currently an extensive programme of investment in accommodation for serving Defence Forces personnel across all military installations. 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 have provided 775 beds. The Deputy may also wish to know that a steady pipeline of accommodation projects is being progressed. These are expected to significantly increase accommodation capacity in the coming years.
As I said in an earlier reply, only last week, I was at Haulbowline, the naval base in Cork, where we opened state-of-the-art accommodation with over 70 beds. That was in some of the older infrastructure, thereby making sure we protect our heritage and protect our older buildings, where possible, but also making sure that our new recruits are living and operating in new, modern facilities.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07