Public pays out E25m for Punchestown development

PUNCHESTOWN Racecourse has received almost E25m of public money in less than a decade for developments, including the infamous exhibition and event centre.

And despite having 20 acres of residentially zoned land available for development or sale, the racecourse is due to get another E2.6m loan from the State.

Some of this loan is being used to pay back a E2.1m investment by the Getty family the US billionaires.

From a total of E27.2m of Exchequer funding gone into Punchestown, the private club that owns the venue only has to pay back the E4.1m over the next 12 years.

Aside from the 15m fast-tracked by Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy and Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh for the controversial exhibition and show centre, yesterday it emerged Punchestown has received E8.3m worth of capital grants for the development of the racecourse between 1995 and 1999.

As the Dáil Public Accounts Committee continued its investigation into the event centre, Department of Agriculture secretary general John Malone said it was never intended to hold showjumping events in the centre.

Yet Mr Malone previously cited the loss of the World Equestrian Games in 1999 as a factor in the Government's decision to fully fund the centre.

Showjumping aside, the Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell, said many of the events scheduled for the exhibition and show centre next year could be held elsewhere.

"It would be hard to conclude at this stage that it is providing a vital function in the infrastructure of agriculture and equestrian sector," he said.

Santa's Kingdom is being held in the event centre. At present Horse Racing Ireland, the State body responsible for managing racing, is finalising the details of a further 2.6m loan on top of a previous E1.65m loan in 2001 to rescue Punchestown from a financial crisis sparked by the cancellation of its flagship national hunt festival two years ago.

In return, HRI has control of 50% of Punchestown, including the 250 acres making up the racecourse, the event centre and ancillary facilities.

But if the real owners, the Kildare Hunt Club, pay back the E4.1m by 2016, 100% control will revert to it.

Failure to do so means full ownership goes to HRI.

The repayment to the Getty family is to redeem the 3.8m investment the family held through GT Equinus as a result of a Passports for Investment scheme.

While Punchestown comprises 466 acres in total, the rest of the lands remains in the ownership of the Kildare Hunt Club and the vast majority is held in trust and cannot be sold or developed.

But KHC also bought another 20 acres in the 1980s, which is zoned residential, but to date planning applications have been unsuccessful.

PAC members again expressed amazement at the Punchestown setup, with Fianna Fáil TD Batt O'Keeffe saying it would be ironic if the State had no clawback on its substantial investments if KHC paid off its debt.

PAC chairman John Perry pointed out that E25m of public money had now into Punchestown.

HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh also said Punchestown would turn a E150,000 profit this year, with a third of this revenue coming from the event centre.