Punchestown centre was 'ready-up', says Rabbitte

The Government came under Opposition attack in the Dáil this morning over the €15 million funding for an agricultural and equestrian eventing centre in Co Kildare.

The Public Accouncs Committee yesterday severely criticised the Departments of Finance and Agriculture for failing to properly evaluate the funding for the centre at Punchestown Racecourse.

The publication of the PAC report came at an embarrassing time for the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, who is using the centre to host Friday's Ecofin meeting. The State is paying Punchestown €60,000 to use the centre and the racecourse, which is in the Minister's constituency.

During leaders questions taken by the Tanaiste Ms Harney, in the Dáil this morning, Labour Party leader Mr Pat Rabbitte criticised the Government over the funding for what he called a "pony centre that the Committee of Public Accounts found had no events in year one and now."

"It was a ready-up between two Ministers, the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, and the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Walsh," Mr Rabbitte added.

"It is simply not acceptable Tanaiste that you should treat the taxpayer, about which you profess to be so concerned, in this fashion. The question is what action are you going to cause to happen as a result of the inictment in the Public Accounts Committee.

Ms Harney responded by saying: "This government, and its predecessors, has done more for the taxpayer that Deputy Rabbitte or his party ever did".

She said it was not a resignation issue adding: "All Members of the House wanted the facility, some more enthusiastically than others. Read what former Deputy Alan Dukes said and what Deputy Crawford and Deputy Wall said".

Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said the Punchestown project had been exposed as "deeply flawed" and saiid the Tánaiste's reponse to the Dail was hypocritical. He said Ms Harney was "now so firmly embedded back in the heart of Fianna Fáil that we now  effectively have a single Party Government.

"In a week when the Tánaiste has shed some  crocodile  tears  over  the  cuts  to  entitlements  for widows - that she supported  in December's budget - we find that she doesn't care that €15 million of taxpayers money was spent without any checks or balances being applied," Mr Kenny added.