Horse Sport Ireland spent €120,000 on abandoned HQ plan

It is understood HSI will now consider alternative locations including lands at Punchestown Racecourse in Kildare. The equestrian body, which received €5.8m of its €7.5m income from the State in 2020, had announced it was to enter a 35-year lease on the Greenogue property when it moved its headquarters there from Naas in early 2021.

HSI, whose board members include Lucinda Creighton, the former junior minister, obtained planning permission from South Dublin County Council to develop indoor and outdoor jumping arenas along with support facilities in what would have been a multi-million euro development.

The plans were strongly opposed by a number of equestrian centres, competitors and politicians who criticised the location as being unsuitable and complained it would take business away from private centres.

In a statement on Thursday night, HSI said its Greenogue plan “will no longer be pursued”.

“The spiralling construction costs, due to inflation in the economy in general and increases in raw material costs because of the war in Ukraine, mean that the building costs of the proposed centre of excellence could increase by at least 50pc, making the project non-viable,” it said.

The project had been driven by Joe Reynolds, HSI’s chairman who stepped into the role as HSI interim-chief executive for a number of months. Dennis Duggan was appointed chief executive of HSI in January and is believed to have sought a review of the plans.

In a statement, Mr Duggan said the concept of a centre of excellence was still a central ambition for HSI and it was open to suggestions on alternative locations.

“Given that the current project cannot now proceed due to the consequential inflationary environment, both in terms of construction and supply chain, which is beyond our control, we will be re-assessing our overall plans,” Duggan said. “HSI is open to discussions with all players in the equine industry in Ireland in relation to the strategic initiative.”

The u-turn was welcomed by Martin Heydon, a Kildare South TD and junior minister at the Department of Agriculture who opposed the Greenogue development.

“HSI’s decision presents an opportunity for a fresh start and to explore other options for a new headquarters and centre of excellence,” he said. “I want our equestrian sector to fulfil its potential, grow participation, win medals and be a top breeding nation. A national centre of excellence would be a key part in realising this potential.”

Catherine Murphy, the Social Democrats co-leader and TD in Kildare North, said HSI had failed to consult with its constituent members before embarking on the Greenogue project.

“The site was fundamentally not suitable for size, planning and location reasons,” Ms Murphy said. “It’s really an industrial setting in Dublin. They need to go back to the drawing board because everyone from the pony clubs to the elite Olympic sports have expectations.”

She said Punchestown could be a suitable location for the new centre but she did not have a closed mind on where HSI should move to.

Con and Lucy McCarthy, Greenogue’s owners, said they were now looking for professional riders to hire some of their facilities.

 

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