Punchestown not playing 'significant role'

Dáil Public Accounts CommitteeThe Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, has said there is no evidence to suggest the controversial €15 million publicly-funded Punchestown development is playing any significant role in Irish agriculture or the equestrian industry.

Mr Purcell yesterday told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that of the 20 events scheduled to take place at Punchestown next year there were few that could not have been held elsewhere.

"On the basis (of the events confirmed for 2004) it would be hard to conclude at this stage that it is providing a vital function in the infrastructure of the agri-equestrian sector," he said.

He added there was no doubt the Punchestown racecourse had benefited from elements of the €15 million funded Punchestown events centre. He had seen plans on Punchestown official headed paper which included the event centre in phase four of a development plan. "Developers recognise the asynergies, to put it at its mildest," he said.

The Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Mr John Malone, told the hearing that Mr Purcell's reference to phase four of Punchestown's development was the "first time I've heard it".

His department had never even received a business plan on the Punchestown development, he said.

He defended the project, which is in the Minister of Finance's Kildare constituency, saying its worth would become more apparent in future years.

"You don't get the benefits of infrastructure in year one or in year two. It's early days yet."

The financial benefits from staging three-day eventing at Punchestown could not be underestimated, he said.

Such an event had been held there in 1999, before any investment was made at the site, but that did not undermine the need for the €15 million expenditure at Punchestown.

"Life moves on and people have expectations on facilities. The reality is that you are in competition. The racing industry is in competition with other sports and Punchestown is in competition with other facilities."

There were already plans to hold an Olympic qualifying three-day event at Punchestown next summer, he said.

Mr Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), said one study on the annual Galway races estimated it generated €60 million for the economy.

He would welcome a comprehensive study on the economic impact of race meetings and equestrian events in the Republic because "it might surprise a few people".

Mr Kavanagh told the hearing that the Kildare Hunt Club, which owns Punchestown, and HRI are in the final stages of agreeing the terms of a 50:50 joint venture, Punchestown Holdings Ltd.

That entity will run the new event centre and the racecourse until 2016.