National Stud defends €85,000 board expenses

THE Irish National Stud has defended the expenses bills for its seven-member board of directors which totalled €85,397 between 2001 and 2009.

The highest claimant was Pat O’Kelly, who retired from the board last December, and incurred €71,157 during the period. She had been a director for 19-years.

The Irish National Stud (INS) said Ms O’Kelly, who owns the Kilcarn Stud, was nominated by the board to travel for specific duties.

“Pat O’Kelly travelled on behalf of the board of the CEO to appropriate sales and race meetings to source prospective stallions and mares for the company.

“The board nominated Ms O’Kelly because of her expertise in this particular area,” it said.

Ms O’Kelly sat on the bloodstock committee of the stud to advise it on horses it should try to acquire for breeding.

The single biggest recurring cost over the nine-year period was for the five-star Pennyhill Park Hotel where the INS party stayed during the annual Royal Ascot festival.

Ms O’Kelly stepped down as a director last year citing disappointment at the failure of the INS to secure the service of the high-achieving stallion Sea the Stars.

During her time as a director, Ms O’Kelly successfully encouraged the INS to source American mares, building on her own positive experience in the market. One of the largest costs during the eight-year period was a €3,958 expenses bill during a sales event in America in 2005.

Ms O’Kelly was contacted and said all flights and accommodation expenses were the result of genuine business costs.

She said, generally, the issue of expenses can appear worse because of the titles attached to accounts, such as chauffeur services, which can be used to describe a taxi. She said no first-class travel was involved.

The details of directors’ expenses, released under the Freedom of Information Act, showed the following general claims from 2001 to 2009:

* Chairman Chryss O’Reilly: €782.

* Former director Tony Smurfit: €263 over four years.

* New chief executive and former director John Osbourne: €1,962.

* Sean Twomey: €5,424 over three years.

* Dermot Weld: €230.

* Denis F Sheehy: €2,076.

* Mick Leavy: €22.72.

* Trevor Stewart: €688.34.

* Jim Beecher: 2,787.