Punchestown grant further colours public's jaundiced view of equestrianism

REGRETTABLY, Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy’s largesse towards Punchestown is proving to be a poison chalice for equestrianism.

The controversy surrounding the grant of 15m has further coloured the jaundiced public view of equestrianism as a sport for the wealthy that is receiving taxpayers' money when the health service, for example, is dying a slow death.

It is crucial to remember, however, that what is in question is not the grant itself, but the manner in which Mr McCreevy is perceived to have fast-tracked it, without proper evaluation of the project. Unfortunately, the public's political cynicism, allied to the fact Punchestown is in Mr McCreevy's backyard, further clouds the issue, bringing more undeserved opprobrium on a sport that has brought glory to Ireland over the decades. Understandably, however, it is difficult for a public largely ignorant of equestrian matters to disassociate the value of the grant to the economy from the controversy surrounding its dispensing.