The Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence has agreed to my request that the committee to carry out an inspection of the conditions in the Curragh Camp in Co. Kildare.
I wrote to the Chair of the Committee after numerous concerns about sub-standard conditions at the Curragh were raised with her and asked that the Committee carry out an inspection.
Concerns were raised with me recently about the intolerable conditions at the Curragh Camp. On the back of this I immediately wrote to the Chair of the Committee and asked that he and the committee members carry out an inspection, so that they can see the standards for themselves.
I have heard of chronic damp and dry rot in rooms which members are supposed to sleep in. I have heard of other instances where members have to carry out their duties in containers. In the living quarters there are over-flowing toilets and no hot water – it’s no wonder morale is on the ground.
The Curragh is the main training centre of the Irish Defence Forces with the Command and Staff School, the Cadet School, the Infantry School, the Combat Support College, the Combat Services Support College, the Equitation School, a logistics base, a supply and services unit, and the United Nations School.
The bar should be set very high when it comes to the standards at the Curragh, instead the living conditions forced upon our Defence Force members don’t even meet the most basic requirements. I look forward to the Committee’s visit and inspection/