Curragh soldiers "sleeping in cars" due to housing crisis - TD tells Dáil

Some soldiers in the Curragh Camp are sleeping in cars because of a local housing crisis, a TD claimed in the Dáil.

Sinn Féin deputy Patricia Ryan called for vacant homes in the Curragh Camp area to be put into use as accommodation for military personnel and civilians.

She said: "We have a housing crisis in this country and must look at every opportunity available. I am dealing with people on the Curragh Camp and soldiers need homes too. We have 6,600 people on the housing list in County Kildare at present."

She added: "I visited the Curragh Camp three weeks ago and saw the dereliction at first hand. I am sure the Minister has visited it several times. We have soldiers sleeping in cars because they cannot afford to find anywhere else to live. I ask that this situation be dealt with.”

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said: "It has been a long-standing policy to discontinue the provision of married quarters to serving Defence Forces personnel. It is not intended to reverse this long-standing policy which was introduced in the early 1990s and was implemented on a gradual basis in recognition of the sensitivities involved for those personnel and their families.

"With regard to former married quarters in the active military installation at the Curragh Camp, the future use of such buildings' facilities is primarily a matter for the Defence Forces to consider in the context of their operational and training requirements.

"To be clear, it is not intended to reverse the policy on the provision of married quarters. This is particularly relevant in the context of the Curragh Camp which is now a training centre and not a self-contained military community, as was the case in the past. Where appropriate and required it is open to the military authorities to consider their conversion to single living accommodation for serving personnel in the Defence Forces Training Centre.

"To this end, the Deputy will be aware that I recently announced the biggest allocation for the Defence Forces built infrastructure of €45 million for 2022, of which €35 million is specifically targeted at the progression of major capital projects. A further €10 million is being provided to the Defence Forces on a fully delegated basis for the purposes of maintenance of the current building stock."

Speaking after the debate, Sinn Féin TD said: "The Minister acknowledges that The Curragh is the headquarters and, in many
ways, the flagship of the Army and that there are too many derelict buildings in the Curragh.

"The buildings must be brought back into use, whether it is for housing, temporary accommodation, or some other use. "Leaving them to rot is not an option."