No decision on Athlone army headquarters until late next year
It will be at least next July before clarity is available on the prospects of Athlone being chosen as the location of a proposed new headquarters of the Irish Army.
The possibility of Athlone's Custume Barracks being the base of a new army headquarters arose from the Commission on the Defence Forces report published in February 2022, which recommended the creation of a headquarters to manage army operations nationally.
Crucially, from an Athlone perspective, the commission felt that the army headquarters should be in a central location geographically.
The recommendation was one of a number which involved significant changes in the command and control structures of the Defence Forces, including the creation of a new overall chief of defence, a new Defence Forces headquarters, and the development of service headquarters for the army, air corps and naval service.
These recommendations were subsequently referred to the Attorney General for legal advice and it has emerged that these are among the recommendations the Commission of Defence Forces which the Government has yet to formally accept.
A Detailed Implementation Plan for Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, prepared by the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence and published last week, revealed that it is their intention to revert back to Government by July 2024 on this recommendation.
“The appropriate policy and legislative changes will now be progressed for Government approval,” it said, in relation to five recommendations relating to control and command changes including the proposal to create separate 'service headquarters' for the army, navy and air forces.
A provisional timetable published last week suggests that Draft Heads of Bills for Approval for required legislation to enact the changes, could be prepared between March and July next, for submission to Government.
A high level action plan, published last year, which provided an update on the progress of all the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces report, stated that the Minister for Defence favoured the implementation of the recommendations relating to the changes in the command structure, including the creation of a headquarters for the army, “subject to the advice from the Attorney General on any potential Constitutional and legal implications”.
Of the 130 individual recommendation of the commission, 48 have been accepted, 55 accepted in principle, 15 are subject to further evaluation and 10 labelled a 'Revert to Government', including the army headquarters proposal.