Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Yes. Horse Sport Ireland has 24 affiliates ranging from pony clubs to Olympic-level organisations. There is a real mix there and getting one facility that caters for all of their needs is difficult. In case people think I know what I am talking about, I must say that other people have told me this. Essentially, Horse Sport Ireland gets the bulk of its funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with €6 out of every €7 coming from that source. Horse Sport Ireland wanted to get a permanent facility and that is fine. It then had to decide where to locate it, with a view to meeting the needs of all of its affiliates. However, none of the affiliates was consulted in advance and some of them have real issues with the decision of Horse Sport Ireland. The site chosen is located in an industrial estate in west Dublin and it simply will not meet the needs of some of the affiliates. It is a 30 acre site and some of the land has been sterilised or frozen from further development because part of it will be needed for the extension of the link to the N3, N4 and N7. This roads objective could be problematic and may mean that it will not be possible to expand the site into the future in one particular direction. Furthermore, the current planning permission has restrictions attached, including that the facility must be for private use. It expressly prohibits competition or other commercial activities. How can Horse Sport Ireland pick this location, spend all this money-----