Leaving €0.5bn Ballsbridge site would be last resort, says RDS chief

PULLING out of Ballsbridge, where it has a forty-two acre complex worth an estimated €0.5 billion, would be a last resort for the Royal Dublin Society.

But Chief Executive Michael Duffy told a press briefing at the opening of the five day Dublin Horse Show yesterday that the RDS plans to re-develop three acres of the prestigious site to increase revenue for its foundation activities in agriculture, science, industry and the arts.

He said a Board Pleanala decision on objections to a €100 million development at the complex was expected in mid-September.

The development would also assure the continuance of Dublin Horse Show at Ballsbridge and lessen the Society’s future dependence on its events business, he said. Mr Duffy said the Society was very committed to Ballsbridge and was in a very strong position financially in the short term.

However, to secure its future in Ballsbridge it needed a significant development plan to upgrade the facilities, a costly business.

“We have one which we think is appropriate and proportionate - €26 million to develop the site and €74 million to build and develop five office blocks - which would provide us with a stable and secure income stream.”

Mr Duffy said that since the 1970s the Society has gone from having 70 acres to 42 acres in Ballsbridge and it did not want to have to sell any more, preferring to use its existing assets to generate income.

However, he said: “If you can’t sustain the Society in Ballsbridge, you have to look at all options.

“But we have been very clear that we think there are other and better options that allow us to develop and sustain our future in Ballsbridge,” he said.

Agriculture and Food Minister Joe Walsh meanwhile announced that he has increased the allocation to the Irish Horse Board under the National Development Plan for 2004 by €200,000. This will bring the IHB funding under the plan to €505,000 for this year and to a total of €2.2 million for the first four years of the NDP.

He said the NDP funding was in addition to the annual grant-in-aid the Irish Horse Board received, which amounted to €2.3 million over the same four-year period.

Minister Walsh urged the board, its new chairman Michael Osbourne and the leaders of the sector’s various organisations to renew their efforts to establish an umbrella body to cater for the sport and leisure horse sector.

Meanwhile, Fáilte Ireland announced its provision of €175,000 in sponsorship funding to boost the Samsung Super League Nations Cup (Aga Khan Trophy) prize fund and to help promote Ireland internationally as a quality equine tourism destination.