Penrose Resigns Over Barracks Closure

The Labour Minister for Housing has announced his resignation after after a Cabinet meeting discussing the closure of the Army barracks in Mullingar.

Mr Penrose described how he was presented with "no alternative" but to resign after a decision during a vabinet meeting to close the barracks.

Columb Barracks is a major military base in the county housing the 4th Field Artillery Regiment and the Head Quarters of the 54 Reserve Field Artillery Regiment.

Mr Penrose said it was with "regret" that he tendered his resignation as Minister of State at the Dept of the Environment on Monday.

"Over recent weeks and months, I had made my clear my unstinting opposition to proposals to close Columb Barracks in Mullingar, so arising from a decision that was made at cabinet today, I had no alternative but to take this course of action.

"I fully appreciate that difficult decisions have to be made by the Government if we are to get out of the economic mess in which we have found ourselves, but I was not prepared to stand over a decision that was not backed up by the facts and figures."

Responding to the resignation, Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy said the decision to close Columb Barracks in Mullingar was a "stunning and shameful example" of "cynical election promises" made by Fine Gael and Labour.

“It has now been revealed that the potential cost of Columb Barracks and transferring personnel and accommodating them in Athlone could be up to €2.84 million.

"This is incredible and must be explained by the Government. The Government has refused to release the information it is using as the basis for this decision."

Mr Troy said was sorry to see Deputy Willie Penrose resign his Ministerial position and described him as a man "of principle" for sticking to his word.

"But it is clear that Deputy Penrose and the people of Mullingar were blatantly lied to by the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and Minister Penrose was let down by his Labour colleagues in Cabinet."

The former Minister for Housing said that in the context of collective cabinet responsibility – under which all members of the cabinet must support decisions announced by the Government - and given his "vociferous" opposition to the proposal, he could not continue in Government.

The Labour Whip was also removed from the minister and he would now be standing as an independent.

"I understand and appreciate that significant efforts were made by my Labour colleagues in Government, who fully understood the depths of my feelings in this regard, to resolve this matter, but to no avail.

"While I will no longer hold the Labour whip, I will continue to serve the people of Longford Westmeath as an active and vocal public representative."

(DW)