Charlie spends 750,000 on Punchestown event

FINANCE Minister Charlie McCreevy will spend 750,000 hosting fellow EU finance ministers at a summit at his favoured venue, Punchestown Racecourse, next May.

After controversially fast-tracking 15 million of taxpayers’ money to fund the event centre, the Minister will show off his pet project in his Co Kildare heartland as part of Ireland’s EU Presidency.

Mr McCreevy will pay 60,000 to Punchestown Racecourse for the rental of the facilities for the ECOFIN meeting on April 2-4.

According to a finance department spokesperson, the majority of the rest of the money will be spent on fitting out the venue, IT and communications and security, as well as hotel accommodation, catering and entertainment.

Mr McCreevy said the ECOFIN summit will be one of the largest events to take place in the country as part of the EU Presidency, with 300 delegates and about 400 media representatives expected to attend.

Previously, the Department of Finance insisted it could not say how much the event was costing the taxpayer, but Mr McCreevy was forced to reveal the costs in reply to parliamentary questions from the opposition. Responding to queries from Labour communications spokesman Tommy Broughan and Green Party transport spokesman Eamon Ryan, Mr McCreevy said hosting a meeting of this size, with the attendant security costs, is unavoidably expensive.

However, Mr McCreevy could not say how much he is paying PR company, Q4 Public Relations, run by former Fianna Fáil general secretary Martin Macken and former Taoiseach’s adviser Jackie Gallagher, for its consultancy work on the event.

“The expertise is mainly to ensure comprehensive and well-informed coverage of the event and of the progress of the Irish economy, in the foreign media especially,” he said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen yesterday announced the four main corporate sponsors for the EU Presidency.

Between them, Eircom and Audi will supply goods and services worth approximately 5m, while Tipperary Spring Water and Kerrygold will supply free products for every Presidency meeting in Ireland, as well as for meetings in Brussels.