OUTGOING CHIEF executive of the Irish National Stud John Clarke has defended expenses for flights and chauffeur services he incurred while working for the State company.
Mr Clarke said almost €85,000 in expenses incurred between June 2002 and October 2004 on flights and chauffeur services, were legitimate business expenses and had been approved by the board.
The expenses included two-day chauffeur car hire costing €1,800 and flights for Mr Clarke and his wife Monica to Chicago and Lexington, Kentucky, costing €9,400.
They were incurred at a time the company was predominantly running at a loss.
The figures were just for chauffeur services and flights and do not include accommodation and other expenses.
The documents were sought under the Freedom of Information Act by The Irish Times, but were released to the paper without recourse to the process.
Established in 1946, the Irish National Stud, at Tully in Co Kildare is a Government-owned thoroughbred horse breeding facility and tourist attraction.
Expenses incurred by Mr Clarke, and his wife, who is not employed at the stud, included flights to to London costing €840 and to Paris costing €1,140. The flights were taken so that Mr Clarke could attend horse sales and race meetings and totalled €73,000 from June 2002 to October 2004.
Mr Clarke and his wife used chauffeur services during the period totalling over €12,000. These included almost €1,800 in 2002 for two days when a driver was required to drive Mr Clarke from Chicago to Arlington Park, Illinois and “wait during racing”.
Seven chauffeur-driven trips over a three-week period in November and December, 2002, cost €950 and included a trip to Humewood Castle in Wicklow at a cost of €250 and a trip to the K Club costing €225.
Another of the seven trips was taken by Ms Clarke who was chauffeur driven to Dublin airport at the expense of the stud.
Mr Clarke announced his intention to step down from the company on Monday. He had told the chairwoman of the board, Chryss O’Reilly, of his decision in August, he said, but was requested to delay a public announcement until this week.
The 59-year-old, who was chief executive at the stud for 27 years, defended the expenses and said he did not use first-class flights. Some flights may have been expensive, but this could be accounted for by last-minute bookings, he said.
He occasionally took his wife on trips with him with the approval of the board when the trips were long or where an invitation had been extended to both him and his wife.
Mr Clarke, who has a company car, had used the chauffeur service mostly to travel to Dublin airport to catch early flights; the cost was cheaper than a taxi from Kildare, he said and he did not like to leave his car at the airport. Other chauffeur trips involved working while he was travelling to his destination.
Company secretary John McStay said Mr Clarke had notified him and the chairwoman of his intention to step down in August.
He also said any trips taken by Ms Clarke at the expense of the stud had the approval of the board and the board was happy to stand over expenses incurred by Mr Clarke.
He also acknowledged some expenses had been incurred at a time when the company was running at a loss.
Explaining his decision to step down from the company, Mr Clarke said: “For some time I have been considering going out on my own as a bloodstock consultant and I feel the time is now right as the stud has had so many successes in the last few years.”
Shares in the Irish National Stud Company Ltd are vested in the Minister for Finance and it operates under the auspicious of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It employees 40 staff as well as about 30 additional seasonal workers.
