FORMER FIANNA Fáil minister Pat The Cope Gallagher has described Government plans to shut down two Army barracks in Co Donegal as "a decision taken in all haste".
He told 700 demonstrators in Letterkenny that he would be "the conduit" between them and Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea in their campaign against plans to close installations in the town and in Lifford, 35km (22 miles) away.
Protesters marched through Letterkenny town centre carrying placards proclaiming "FF = Fail the Forces".
The closures, due at the end of January, will mean Donegal will have only one Army camp - at Finner near Bundoran in the south of the county.
More than 260 soldiers and civilian personnel attached to Letterkenny and Lifford will be transferred to Finner.
Mr Gallagher and several other speakers at Saturday's rally pointed out that will leave a vast expanse of the county, including its lengthy border with Tyrone and Derry, without a visible Defence Forces presence.
Mr Gallagher, TD for Donegal South-West, said soldiers living as far north as Malin Head will have an extra four hours travel time each day, leaving home at 6am to arrive at work at 8am and facing another two-hour drive home in the evening.
He called on Mr O'Dea to visit all three barracks in the county and to listen to proposals that Lifford and Letterkenny be merged instead of closing both.
The Budget proposal was "ill-conceived", he said.
"Discussions should have taken place with those involved beforehand. If this was a financial decision it's hard to see where the savings will be made given the fact that work will have to be carried out on Finner Camp to accommodate the extra soldiers."
Dinny McGinley, Donegal SouthWest Fine Gael TD, said it was "unbelievable" that two of the proposed five military closures throughout the country were in Donegal.
The other closures are planned for Longford and Monaghan barracks and St Bricin's Military Hospital, Dublin.
"It's going to leave a gaping gap in security between Donegal and Northern Ireland," he said.
The protest was organised by the Donegal Steering Group Against Barrack Closures, which claims the proposed closures in Lifford and Letterkenny could remove €12 million from the local economy.