Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny has accused the Government of showing "blatant disregard" for its own guidelines in awarding an extra €1.5 million in grant aid for the development of the Punchestown agriculture centre.
Mr Kenny told the Dáil the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste were "standing idlely by while the public purse was plundered without any regard for the guidelines" the Government itself espouses.
Mr Kenny said he was not questioning the validity of building the centre but the allocation of state funds which he said were not dispersed in an "open and transparent way".
Mr Ahern dismissed the Fine Gael leader's criticism. He said funding for the project was administered in an "open and transparent" manner and proper tendering procedures had been observed.
According to today's Irish Timesthe Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, breached the State's own funding cap in awarding the centre additional funding in late 2001 after the project ran over budget.
The move brought State funding of the centre, which is in Mr McCreevy's constituency, to €14.8 million.
An agreement between the Department of Agriculture and Punchestown racecourse in August 2000 had capped the Exchequer contribution at €13.3 million.
However, the Department of Finance said yesterday it was not aware of the funding cap and that the fine details of the funding were a matter for the Department of Agriculture.
