Penrose resigns

kaltz

So Mullingar has had a Minister for all of 6 months and now he's gone. Cant help but feel that the town will get no investment over the next few years. The barracks will be going to Athlone and the A&E will be next to go to Tullamore. County town my a*se. Been let down by the local politicians so much over the years its not even funny. I dont think he should have resigned on this as it would have been better in the long-term for the town to have a Minister in the tent than someone shouting outside it.

lakill Farm

at least he cares

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

At least the 170 or so soldiers that were based in Mullingar won't be losing their jobs. The commute to Athlone for those of them living in the Mullingar area will be a pain, but spare a thought for the poor buggers in Cavan who are being moved to Athlone or those in Clonmel who are going to Limerick.

slowharry

First to say I'm a Fine Gael voter from Athlone area

To be honest this is the exact kind of local first/Nimby thinking that has destroyed this country. Penrose is stepping down because Mullingar is in his vote catchment area. If it was Athlone barracks closing and the soldiers moved to Mullingar he probably would be saying he brought money into the town (and Nicky McFadden would be whinging). This is not a resignation on a point of principal it is a resignation to protect his vote base.

He should have resigned over far worse things this goverment has down since they got into power than move 170 jobs 1/2 hour down the road.

Milk & Honey

Penrose stuck his neck out and lost. If some other barracks had closed and Mullingar survived he would be seen as the winner. That would have encouraged other ministers to grandstand.
Most of the personnel serving in Columb Barracks will continue living in Mullingar. There will be little or no loss of income to the Mullingar for years to come.

kaltz

2 points on this. We are now without a barracks and a Minister. Also was the option of moving the barracks from Athlone to Mullingar looked at. Anyway rumours now circulating that he is not in the best of health.

Milk & Honey

kaltz wrote: »

2 points on this. We are now without a barracks and a Minister. Also was the option of moving the barracks from Athlone to Mullingar looked at. Anyway rumours now circulating that he is not in the best of health.

There would be no question of moving the barracks from Athlone to Mullingar. Athlone has many times more troops than Mullingar.
Mullingar has an Artillery regiment and a small transport unit. Athlone has a Brigade HQ, an Infantry Battalion, a Logistics battalion, A Cavalry Squadron and other units. It would be infinitely more disruptive and logistically difficult to close Athlone and move to Mullingar.

kildarecommuter

Mullingar has basically been given another kick in the teeth by this govt as has happened in the past with other govts with investment going to Athlone or Tullamore. I don't believe Penrose was left with much option to stick by his word.
I don't live there but I can see no point in closing it and moving troops to Athlone when the taxpayer will end up paying Group4 or another security company a fortune to secure it as no one will buy it

Coolaboy

They are closing vital A/E hospitals and people are all worked up for closing a barracks! Come on now and lets get priorites right. I hear people whinging about having to drive 45 min to Athlone Barracks now to work. I drive every day to work and its 2 hours return each day. Portlaoise is the next A/E to close starting nexy year. Finally if you want to fight a battle it is better to fight when you have a Ministers power, not without it. Penrose was wrong to resign.

kildarecommuter

Coolaboy wrote: »

They are closing vital A/E hospitals and people are all worked up for closing a barracks! Come on now and lets get priorites right. I hear people whinging about having to drive 45 min to Athlone Barracks now to work. I drive every day to work and its 2 hours return each day. Portlaoise is the next A/E to close starting nexy year. Finally if you want to fight a battle it is better to fight when you have a Ministers power, not without it. Penrose was wrong to resign.

I agree with you on closing A&Es etc the problem with this decision it saves the taxpayer nothing as you will end up paying a private firm to secure it and the soldiers will be paid anyway whether in mullingar or athlone.
The arguments about commuting time are total b*ll*x to be honest and the wifeys should be using the €s argument instead

mandz

I respect Willie's decision to resign however I think he should have looked at the bigger picture. His ministerial position was of more use to the town. I understand his reasons for stepping down but what use is that going to do to the situation. I think is resignation is of a bigger loss to the town/county.

DonJose

kaltz wrote: »

Cant help but feel that the town will get no investment over the next few years.

We've got a IDA park lying empty, I'd like to Penrose put as much effort into looking for businesses to move to Mullingar than retaining a barracks. I find Penrose a very poor TD, I've emailed him several times about business matters without reply.

stooge

slowharry wrote: »

First to say I'm a Fine Gael voter from Athlone area

To be honest this is the exact kind of local first/Nimby thinking that has destroyed this country. Penrose is stepping down because Mullingar is in his vote catchment area. If it was Athlone barracks closing and the soldiers moved to Mullingar he probably would be saying he brought money into the town (and Nicky McFadden would be whinging). This is not a resignation on a point of principal it is a resignation to protect his vote base.

He should have resigned over far worse things this goverment has down since they got into power than move 170 jobs 1/2 hour down the road.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Too many politicians are bogged down with small regional politics to care about the bigger picture. They are just worried about getting the local votes to get a seat, a nice wage, benefits and then pension. No consideration for the country as a whole.

Coolaboy

I was looking at the wages Willie Penrose is on. He was getting 98,000 for been a TD and ANOTHER 54,000 for been a Minister. Total of 152,000 a year, divided by 52 weeks a year equals 2,923 euros a week ( 3 grand a week). Info from Irish Indo pg. 18. Ah boys and girls its all a cod. With all said and done I am a big fan of him and will always vote for him because he is a honest man. A rare thing in a polotican. Its the wage and pension structure that is crazy. AND guess what,,,,, we are paying for it. Have a good Christmas to all.

kaltz

mandz wrote: »

I respect Willie's decision to resign however I think he should have looked at the bigger picture. His ministerial position was of more use to the town. I understand his reasons for stepping down but what use is that going to do to the situation. I think is resignation is of a bigger loss to the town/county.

This was my point at the start. Pi*sing into a tent now instead of out of it. It took a long time to get a Minister who could stand up for the town. I read somewhere yesterday someone saying that O'Rourke wouldn't have resigned over a barracks issue in Athlone. Dont know him personally and hope his health keeps up but feel disappointed with his judgement on this one.

walrusgumble

deccurley wrote: »

At least the 170 or so soldiers that were based in Mullingar won't be losing their jobs. The commute to Athlone for those of them living in the Mullingar area will be a pain, but spare a thought for the poor buggers in Cavan who are being moved to Athlone or those in Clonmel who are going to Limerick.

How long does it take to get from Cavan to Athlone?

Don't other workers commute from Athlone to Dublin or Mullingar to Dublin everyday? Why should they be any different?

Jesus, they should be relieved to be getting out of Cavan and into civilization

walrusgumble

lakill Farm wrote: »

at least he cares

Wrong Issues

walrusgumble

kaltz wrote: »

2 points on this. We are now without a barracks and a Minister. Also was the option of moving the barracks from Athlone to Mullingar looked at. Anyway rumours now circulating that he is not in the best of health.

Athlone and Mullingar are in different regiments/divisions, you do realize that so Mullingar probably should compare itself with barracks' that in the the same division as itself.

walrusgumble

kildarecommuter wrote: »

Mullingar has basically been given another kick in the teeth by this govt as has happened in the past with other govts with investment going to Athlone or Tullamore. I don't believe Penrose was left with much option to stick by his word.
I don't live there but I can see no point in closing it and moving troops to Athlone when the taxpayer will end up paying Group4 or another security company a fortune to secure it as no one will buy it

Good point. How much will about security. Are there any proposed plans on what to do with it

martin1

I think it will be a great morale booster for our troops,
just to get out of Mullingar for a while every day.

They say travel broadens the mind.:D

Milk & Honey

walrusgumble wrote: »

Athlone and Mullingar are in different regiments/divisions, you do realize that so Mullingar probably should compare itself with barracks' that in the the same division as itself.

They are both installations of the 4th Western Brigade. The reason it is not Athlone to Mullingar is given above.

beanie10

Coolaboy wrote: »

I was looking at the wages Willie Penrose is on. He was getting 98,000 for been a TD and ANOTHER 54,000 for been a Minister. Total of 152,000 a year, divided by 52 weeks a year equals 2,923 euros a week ( 3 grand a week). Info from Irish Indo pg. 18. Ah boys and girls its all a cod. With all said and done I am a big fan of him and will always vote for him because he is a honest man. A rare thing in a polotican. Its the wage and pension structure that is crazy. AND guess what,,,,, we are paying for it. Have a good Christmas to all.

Couldnt disagree with you more. I always found him and the brother to self serving. They only look after their own interests and business pals. Glad he is gone waist of time and money.

nice_guy80

Willie only resigned to save face. he knew it was going to be shut no matter what

it is a crazy decision.
it will cost soldiers more to travel, than to keep the barracks open.
mullingar businesses will suffer a drop in business, by probably more than the amount the government claims will be saved (though this is open to debate if anything will be saved)

Kosseegan

nice_guy80 wrote: »

Willie only resigned to save face. he knew it was going to be shut no matter what

it is a crazy decision.
it will cost soldiers more to travel, than to keep the barracks open.
mullingar businesses will suffer a drop in business, by probably more than the amount the government claims will be saved (though this is open to debate if anything will be saved)

the army is now going to a 2 brigade structure. Something Penrose might have been able to influence would have been to have Athlone remain as a Brigade Headquarters installation. If Athlone is downgraded the troops from Mullingar will be going to the Curragh or Dublin along with a large number of the existing troops in Athlone. Ther closure of Columb Barracks will be a fleabite compared to the havoc that is about to be wreaked on the Defence Forces in the Midlands.

nice_guy80

lets face reality

Ireland has too many soldiers for the size of country. over 9,000!!!
what are they needed for?
there is very little need around the border anymore.
we go on very few peace keeping missions

money escort is their main duty
most soldiers do very little every day, except parade, drill and shot their guns or fire off shells up in the glen of Imal

Kosseegan

nice_guy80 wrote: »

lets face reality

Ireland has too many soldiers for the size of country. over 9,000!!!
what are they needed for?
there is very little need around the border anymore.
we go on very few peace keeping missions

money escort is their main duty
most soldiers do very little every day, except parade, drill and shot their guns or fire off shells up in the glen of Imal

This is off topic.
There are threads on Military and Politics on this point about how many troops there ought to be (if any)).
Whatever number there are, how many of them will be in Westmeath?