PROMOTERS of the proposed super-casino in Tipperary have vowed to press ahead with their plans despite the Government yesterday ruling out legislation allowing so-called large resort-style casinos.
Justice Minister Alan Shatter appeared to blow proposals for such casinos out of the water as he said the social impact of them was "likely to be negative" and that the Government "could not ignore" concerns about their viability.
The people behind the Tipperary Venue, which secured planning permission for a €460 million hotel and casino development on an 800-acre site in Co Tipperary, said they intend to engage with the Department of Justice to clarify what type of casino will be allowed.
However, the planned 2,000-table casino included in the Tipperary Venue proposal is at odds with the likely maximum of 40 tables Mr Shatter spoke of yesterday.
The large-scale development has been backed politically by Independent TD for Tipperary North Michael Lowry, who said he was "disappointed" by the Government’s decision to refuse it, "particularly in the context of the announcements that we’ve had regarding job losses this year".
Asked if the announcement proved he had lost any influence in government circles, Mr Lowry replied: "That is a factual position. I brought it as far as I could and we made fantastic progress and this is a political decision by the two political parties in government, Fine Gael and Labour."
Businessman Richard Quirke, the main backer of the Tipperary Venue, will have to decide how to continue, Mr Lowry said.
"The casino is one element of an overall development. Richard Quirke’s stated position all the time has been that if the licence was granted, this development would proceed at the one time.
"What he has to now look at is the feasibility of putting in place the other elements of the development, without the casino or with a reduced-size casino."
In a statement, the Tipperary Venue said it "welcomes" the fact that Mr Shatter intends to start preparations for the "updating and modernisation" of gaming legislation.
"In the context of the Tipperary Venue it is our intention to engage with the Department to determine the definition and extent of ‘modest’ casinos," the statement read.
"We will make constructive submissions and arguments to ensure that the terms and scale of the license granted, will, when incorporated into the development, be viable."
In June, An Bord Pleanála went against the recommendation of its inspector by granting permission for much of Mr Quirke’s proposals for the site at Two-Mile Borris outside Thurles.
It gave the go-ahead for a 500-bed hotel/casino, golf course, turf and all-weather horseracing tracks, greyhound racing circuit, and a replica of the White House, while refusing permission for a 15,000-capacity indoor entertainment venue.
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Showing posts with label tipperary casino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tipperary casino. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Government’s new bill will block plans for Twomileborris ‘super-casino’
THE GOVERNMENT has confirmed plans to prepare an overhaul of Ireland’s gambling laws – in a move that will block the inclusion of a so-called ‘super-casino’ in Twomileborris, Co Tipperary.
Justice minister Alan Shatter said that the government had given him approval to work on new legislation modernising Ireland’s betting laws, to address a number of shortcomings in the current legislation.
In a statement, however, Shatter said the new legislation would not provide for “large resort-style casinos, such as have been proposed by some promoters”.
The laws would create provisions for more medium-sized developments, however.
“The number will be limited and every application will be subjected to vigorous checks, including deep and extensive checks on the promoters.”
“Only those promoters meeting high standards of personal and financial probity will be considered for a licence,” Shatter said.
Larger casino developments would “attract other activities that are not desirable and pose a particular risk to vulnerable people”, leading to an overall negative social impact.
Provision for more modest developments would be allowed, Shatter said, because the government had recognised the public’s support for “some form of casino entertainment”.
The casino element of the Twomileborris development had been dependant on a reform of gambling laws, which had been anticipated to liberalise the current rules which limit casinos to members-only status.
Shatter clarified on this lunchtime’s News at One that the number of tables proposed for the Tipperary complex – around 2,000 – would be deemed beyond the numbers allowed under the new legislation.
Casinos with 500 tables would also be considered too large, he said, indicating that the government would not provide for casinos larger than the private members’ clubs already in existence here.
An Bord Pleanála had given approval for the ambitious development in June, approving almost all elements of the proposed complex in Co Tipperary.
Aside from the ‘super-casino’, the complex is to include a 500-bedroom hotel, a racetrack, golf course and full-size replica of the White House.
The board had deemed proposals for a 15,000-seater music venue to be “inappropriate”. North Tipperary County Council had previously given its approval to the entire plans.
The overall development, estimated to cost €30m, was intended to create 1,000 construction jobs and to employ another 2,000 people upon completion.
A spokesperson for developer Richard Quirke, who is behind the plans for Twomileborris, said Quirke would meet his team later this week to discuss his response to the decision.
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Justice minister Alan Shatter said that the government had given him approval to work on new legislation modernising Ireland’s betting laws, to address a number of shortcomings in the current legislation.
In a statement, however, Shatter said the new legislation would not provide for “large resort-style casinos, such as have been proposed by some promoters”.
The laws would create provisions for more medium-sized developments, however.
“The number will be limited and every application will be subjected to vigorous checks, including deep and extensive checks on the promoters.”
“Only those promoters meeting high standards of personal and financial probity will be considered for a licence,” Shatter said.
Larger casino developments would “attract other activities that are not desirable and pose a particular risk to vulnerable people”, leading to an overall negative social impact.
Provision for more modest developments would be allowed, Shatter said, because the government had recognised the public’s support for “some form of casino entertainment”.
The casino element of the Twomileborris development had been dependant on a reform of gambling laws, which had been anticipated to liberalise the current rules which limit casinos to members-only status.
Shatter clarified on this lunchtime’s News at One that the number of tables proposed for the Tipperary complex – around 2,000 – would be deemed beyond the numbers allowed under the new legislation.
Casinos with 500 tables would also be considered too large, he said, indicating that the government would not provide for casinos larger than the private members’ clubs already in existence here.
An Bord Pleanála had given approval for the ambitious development in June, approving almost all elements of the proposed complex in Co Tipperary.
Aside from the ‘super-casino’, the complex is to include a 500-bedroom hotel, a racetrack, golf course and full-size replica of the White House.
The board had deemed proposals for a 15,000-seater music venue to be “inappropriate”. North Tipperary County Council had previously given its approval to the entire plans.
The overall development, estimated to cost €30m, was intended to create 1,000 construction jobs and to employ another 2,000 people upon completion.
A spokesperson for developer Richard Quirke, who is behind the plans for Twomileborris, said Quirke would meet his team later this week to discuss his response to the decision.
www.thejournal.ie
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Shatter to block resort-style casinos
PLANS FOR a €460 million casino in Co Tipperary will be blocked by new legislation to regulate gambling being introduced Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.
The Minister announced yesterday that the Cabinet had agreed legislation that would rule out a casino on the scale of that planned at Two-Mile-Borris in the county.
In June, An Bord Pleanála granted permission for plans proposed by businessman Richard Quirke.
Mr Shatter said the new legislation, which will be ready in the spring, would allow modest-sized casinos but would prohibit large gambling resorts.
“We’ve made very specific decisions in the public interest,” the Minister said. “Those specific decisions include a decision that we will not be making provision for resort-style casinos.”
He added that the Government had agreed it was time for a comprehensive revision of gambling laws.
“The shortcomings in the current law, for example the absence of any regulation of online gambling, are exposing young people and other vulnerable persons to unacceptable risks,” he said.
“The exchequer is also being short-changed because of the absence of a taxation regime for online and other forms of remote gambling.
“The present laws are not adequate to deal even with aspects of gambling which they were intended to cover.
“For instance, attempts to curtail unlicensed private members’ clubs, including prosecutions, have been unsuccessful,” he added.
The Minister said that while no provision would be made for large resort-style casinos, there would be statutory provisions to permit modest-size casinos.
“The number will be limited and every application will be subjected to vigorous checks, including deep and extensive checks on the promoters. Only those promoters meeting high standards of personal and financial probity will be considered for a licence,” he added.
Mr Shatter accepted that while large casino developments could bring some employment benefits, the Government was concerned they could attract other activities that were not desirable and posed a risk to vulnerable people.
“It therefore concluded that, on balance, the social impact was likely to be negative.”
He also said the new legislation would prohibit fixed-odds betting terminals as their prohibition was in the public interest.
“The new legislation will deal with online and other forms of remote betting and gaming, as well as addressing loopholes. It will also take account of the blurring of the lines between betting and gambling, especially in the on-line operations.
“It will therefore cover both betting and gaming, under the collective term gambling.”
He said the current legislation was designed for a gambling sector that had changed beyond recognition.
“We need to catch up with changes in technology and in public attitudes and we need to do so without further delay.”
Mr Shatter said a new unified enforcement structure would be established and licensing and inspection duties would be brought together under his department.
“My priority is the protection of the public interest and, in particular, the protection of the vulnerable and their families. I feel this priority can best be met by what I would described as a joined-up set of controls.”
The Minister’s approach to the Tipperary casino was welcomed by An Taisce which had backed his view that there was no social benefit in a casino resort of this scale.
The Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland also welcomed the Minister’s decision to regulate the gaming sector.
Irish Times
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The Minister announced yesterday that the Cabinet had agreed legislation that would rule out a casino on the scale of that planned at Two-Mile-Borris in the county.
In June, An Bord Pleanála granted permission for plans proposed by businessman Richard Quirke.
Mr Shatter said the new legislation, which will be ready in the spring, would allow modest-sized casinos but would prohibit large gambling resorts.
“We’ve made very specific decisions in the public interest,” the Minister said. “Those specific decisions include a decision that we will not be making provision for resort-style casinos.”
He added that the Government had agreed it was time for a comprehensive revision of gambling laws.
“The shortcomings in the current law, for example the absence of any regulation of online gambling, are exposing young people and other vulnerable persons to unacceptable risks,” he said.
“The exchequer is also being short-changed because of the absence of a taxation regime for online and other forms of remote gambling.
“The present laws are not adequate to deal even with aspects of gambling which they were intended to cover.
“For instance, attempts to curtail unlicensed private members’ clubs, including prosecutions, have been unsuccessful,” he added.
The Minister said that while no provision would be made for large resort-style casinos, there would be statutory provisions to permit modest-size casinos.
“The number will be limited and every application will be subjected to vigorous checks, including deep and extensive checks on the promoters. Only those promoters meeting high standards of personal and financial probity will be considered for a licence,” he added.
Mr Shatter accepted that while large casino developments could bring some employment benefits, the Government was concerned they could attract other activities that were not desirable and posed a risk to vulnerable people.
“It therefore concluded that, on balance, the social impact was likely to be negative.”
He also said the new legislation would prohibit fixed-odds betting terminals as their prohibition was in the public interest.
“The new legislation will deal with online and other forms of remote betting and gaming, as well as addressing loopholes. It will also take account of the blurring of the lines between betting and gambling, especially in the on-line operations.
“It will therefore cover both betting and gaming, under the collective term gambling.”
He said the current legislation was designed for a gambling sector that had changed beyond recognition.
“We need to catch up with changes in technology and in public attitudes and we need to do so without further delay.”
Mr Shatter said a new unified enforcement structure would be established and licensing and inspection duties would be brought together under his department.
“My priority is the protection of the public interest and, in particular, the protection of the vulnerable and their families. I feel this priority can best be met by what I would described as a joined-up set of controls.”
The Minister’s approach to the Tipperary casino was welcomed by An Taisce which had backed his view that there was no social benefit in a casino resort of this scale.
The Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland also welcomed the Minister’s decision to regulate the gaming sector.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Shatter rules out 'casino resorts'
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has ruled out a proposed €460 million casino outside Tipperary, after he unveiled plans for new gambling legislation saying such developments were not in the public interest.
He said the casino planned for Two-mile Borris was “out”, based on new gambling laws signed off by the Cabinet.
In June, An Bord Pleanála granted permission for the Tipperary Venue proposed by businessman Richard Quirke.
“We’ve made very specific decisions in the public interest. Those specific decisions include a decision that we will not be making provision for resort-style casinos,” Mr Shatter said today.
The proposed legislation to regulate gambling will allow “modest-sized” casinos but will not provide for large gambling “resorts”.
Mr Shatter said the Government had agreed to immediately start work on new legislation to modernise the State’s gambling laws.
He said the shortcomings in the current law, such as the absence of any regulation on online gambling, were “exposing young people and other vulnerable persons to unacceptable risks”.
The Government had agreed that it was “long past time for a full and comprehensive revision of our gambling laws”, Mr Shatter said.
“The present laws are not adequate to deal even with aspects of gambling which they were intended to cover. For instance attempts to curtail unlicensed private members’ clubs, including prosecutions, have been unsuccessful.”
He said no provision would be made for large resort style casinos such as had been proposed by some promoters but that statutory provisions “will permit modest size casinos”.
The Minister said the Government recognised there was support for a form of casino entertainment and it would be an added attraction for some tourists.
He said he accepted that larger casinos would bring employment benefits both at construction stage and when in operation. But the Government was nevertheless concerned “that the scale of such developments is so large that they can attract other activities that are not desirable and pose a particular risk to vulnerable people”.
“It therefore concluded that, on balance, the social impact was likely to be negative.”
Mr Shatter said the Government felt it would not be acting in the public interest if through the forthcoming legislation it encouraged or facilitated the larger developments in the face of “real and substantial doubts” about their viability.
Mr Shatter said the number of casinos licensed would be limited and that every application would be “subjected to vigorous checks, including deep and extensive checks on the promoters”.
Only those promoters meeting “high standards of personal and financial probity” would be considered for a licence.
The Government was also aware that the supervision of large casinos would require “require disproportionate resources in the context of the overall resources available to the State for this purpose”.
The new legislation will also ban fixed-odds betting terminals. Mr Shatter said the Government was satisfied their prohibition was in the public interest.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
He said the casino planned for Two-mile Borris was “out”, based on new gambling laws signed off by the Cabinet.
In June, An Bord Pleanála granted permission for the Tipperary Venue proposed by businessman Richard Quirke.
“We’ve made very specific decisions in the public interest. Those specific decisions include a decision that we will not be making provision for resort-style casinos,” Mr Shatter said today.
The proposed legislation to regulate gambling will allow “modest-sized” casinos but will not provide for large gambling “resorts”.
Mr Shatter said the Government had agreed to immediately start work on new legislation to modernise the State’s gambling laws.
He said the shortcomings in the current law, such as the absence of any regulation on online gambling, were “exposing young people and other vulnerable persons to unacceptable risks”.
The Government had agreed that it was “long past time for a full and comprehensive revision of our gambling laws”, Mr Shatter said.
“The present laws are not adequate to deal even with aspects of gambling which they were intended to cover. For instance attempts to curtail unlicensed private members’ clubs, including prosecutions, have been unsuccessful.”
He said no provision would be made for large resort style casinos such as had been proposed by some promoters but that statutory provisions “will permit modest size casinos”.
The Minister said the Government recognised there was support for a form of casino entertainment and it would be an added attraction for some tourists.
He said he accepted that larger casinos would bring employment benefits both at construction stage and when in operation. But the Government was nevertheless concerned “that the scale of such developments is so large that they can attract other activities that are not desirable and pose a particular risk to vulnerable people”.
“It therefore concluded that, on balance, the social impact was likely to be negative.”
Mr Shatter said the Government felt it would not be acting in the public interest if through the forthcoming legislation it encouraged or facilitated the larger developments in the face of “real and substantial doubts” about their viability.
Mr Shatter said the number of casinos licensed would be limited and that every application would be “subjected to vigorous checks, including deep and extensive checks on the promoters”.
Only those promoters meeting “high standards of personal and financial probity” would be considered for a licence.
The Government was also aware that the supervision of large casinos would require “require disproportionate resources in the context of the overall resources available to the State for this purpose”.
The new legislation will also ban fixed-odds betting terminals. Mr Shatter said the Government was satisfied their prohibition was in the public interest.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Las Vegas comes to Co Tipperary
A casino, a racecourse, a hotel, a heliport, golf, greyhounds – all, it seems, are on their way to Two Mile Borris. So what do the residents of this tiny Tipperary village think of the prospect?
EVERYTHING ABOUT Two Mile Borris, even its name, is modest. It is a tiny community of one street that until this week was best known for winning the All-Ireland senior hurling championship in 1900, a fact commemorated by a curved stone wall in the middle of the Co Tipperary village.
On Monday the biggest news associated with Two Mile Borris in 111 years was announced: that planning permission for a €460-million, 325-hectare development nearby had been granted. The project, headed by the Thurles-born businessman Richard Quirke, will feature a casino, a 500-bedroom hotel, an all-weather racecourse and a replica of the White House. Permission was not granted for an entertainment venue with a retractable roof and a capacity of 15,000.
You can walk the length of Two Mile Borris – or Borris, as the locals call it – in less than a minute. It has a supermarket, two pubs (one with a small grocery attached), a working water pump, a church and a graveyard.
Martina and Martin Heffernan have run the village’s Gala supermarket for six years. When Martina speaks about the development she cannot stop grinning. “The excitement is fantastic. We’ve already had people in here inquiring about jobs,” she says. “If there are hundreds of people who’ll be working on the construction site, they’ll need to eat.” The Gala sells takeaway hot and cold food. “So many people are out of jobs. I had one woman saying to me that if she got a job at the casino she’d be able to go into town again and have her hair done.”
It’s estimated 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction of the complex; 2,000 jobs will be involved in the running of what’s formally known as the Tipperary Venue. “I have no worries about its success at all. I’m sure Mr Quirke has done his research,” Martina says. “And even if the high rollers don’t come, nobody will lose money on it, only Mr Quirke.”
Across the road at Corcoran’s pub, the only negative comment any of the bar’s customers has about the development is that permission was not granted for the entertainment venue.
Nobody there has ever been to a casino. “It’s lots of one-armed bandits, isn’t it?” asks a man who offers only his first name, Phil. “But the casino is only part of it, and I don’t know why the media keep going on about it. Nobody round here is interested in that. What we’re interested in is the racetrack and the equestrian centre. The casino is aimed at foreigners and sheikhs. What I want to know is: will we get in on race day for a tenner, like we do in Thurles?”
THE DEVELOPMENT PLANS also include a greyhound track, an 18-hole golf course, 20 shops, a four-pad heliport and parking for almost 6,000 vehicles. The eight-storey hotel will have a spa, a swimming pool, a cafe, two ballrooms, six shops, four restaurants and two bars. Along with the replica White House – to be known as the Hoban Memorial, after the Washington landmark’s Irish architect, James Hoban – with its banqueting halls, there will be a New England-style wooden chapel, where it is planned that weddings will be held.
An Bord Pleanála’s 77-page inspector’s report, published in April of this year, said of the Hoban Memorial: “It is very difficult not to consider the proposal as being comparable to the landmark features provided in other resorts elsewhere in the world where, to a large extent, they are seen somewhat as gimmicks to attract attention and provide distinctiveness.”
“The White House replica, that’s really about Quirke leaving his own mark on the place,” says Billy Lanigan, who owns Bannon’s bar. Lanigan says that, all in all, he welcomes the news that the development has been approved. His primary focus is on employment prospects, especially in the week that Tipperary discovered it was to lose another 133 jobs with the closure of the Johnson Johnson factory in Cashel.
“It might bring some people back to the area who’ve emigrated,” he says. “But I don’t know where all these people are going to come out of to visit that casino. It’s not for locals. You’d be bound to be wary about the scale of it, but these guys have done their research, and they obviously think it’s going to work.”
“I don’t think Irish people understand what a casino is,” says Paul Breen, one of Lanigan’s customers, who is home from Sydney, where he has lived for several years. Breen regularly goes to casinos in Australia. “A casino is not a gambling house. You go there for a range of entertainment: a show, drinks, dinner, then a game of blackjack or roulette. There’s a private upstairs gaming room for the high rollers, and everyone else is downstairs. But because of where this casino will be, it’s an overnight experience. In my opinion, 500 rooms is not nearly enough. Five thousand rooms would be more like it for a resort casino.”
The Bord Pleanála report summarised Richard Quirke’s justification of his proposal with the following lines: “All the best enterprises, tourist and employment generating schemes are speculative in nature. In a time where the economic outlook is bleak it is considered that the planning system should encourage and endeavour to facilitate all forms of development which are shown to have positive social-economic impacts.”
Nobody The Irish Times spoke to expressed any fear about the casino leading to gambling addiction in the area. Their view almost overwhelmingly was that they’d never been to a casino themselves and that Quirke’s ambitious development was clearly aiming to attract foreigners.
THE SITE OF THE development, less than two kilometres from Two Mile Borris, is a flat green area with a few houses scattered across it, and lines of poplar trees, not far from the new Dublin-Cork motorway. The car park is due to be in the facing field. An Bord Pleanála’s summary of the design concept says that “the board may consider that the scheme would not detract from, but rather improve and add to, the overall visual amenity of what is now a relatively flat, featureless, unpopulated rural landscape”.
Thurles, seven kilometres away, is the closest town to Two Mile Borris; it will be hoping to benefit from the development. “The first thing I have to say is how excited I am about it,” says Liam Campion, a butcher who owns a store in the town’s shopping centre. “It could put Thurles on the map. It could put the whole region on the map. And it means jobs. The only thing is that nobody knows if it’ll be a success or not. What we do know is that it’s not geared towards local people. At the moment, most Irish people can’t even afford to go to the pub.”
“I’m very pleased that the brainchild of our local TD, Michael Lowry, is going to be happening,” says Marion Ryan, who is sitting on a bench outside Dunnes Stores. “A lot of local people are celebrating. Progress has to be welcomed. It’s great for employment, and it’s something different. It’ll be very handy for people in Europe who want to go to Las Vegas. They won’t have to travel to America at all. They can come to Two Mile Borris instead.”
The man betting on Borris
ABOUT THREE YEARS ago, the Independent TD Michael Lowry and the Thurles-born millionaire businessman Richard Quirke met for the first time, in a farmhouse on land owned by Dick O’Connell, near Two Mile Borris. Sitting around the kitchen table over mugs of tea, Quirke outlined his big business idea to Lowry.
He wanted to build a €460-million leisure resort with a casino for high rollers, a golf course, a five-star hotel, dog and horseracing tracks, an indoor concert hall and a replica of the White House.
“My initial reaction was to be sceptical of it,” Lowry recalls. “I was taken aback by the enormity and scale of it all. But what impressed me most was the team Quirke had built around him of very high-reputation companies and individuals. I could see he meant business.”
Nothing much moves in north Tipp without Lowry’s support, and Quirke rightly calculated that he needed the influential TD on board if he was to win over the locals and negotiate the planning process. Lowry was also a useful media frontman for the hugely ambitious – some would say barking-mad – project, which this week cleared a major hurdle by securing a green light from An Bord Pleanála.
Quirke is painfully shy when it comes to the media. He hasn’t given a single meaningful interview to the fourth estate about the so-called Tipperary Venue since details of it first emerged, in 2008. All he has offered are some soundbites to RTÉ and TV3. Several public-information and planning meetings have been held in the well-known Horse Jockey hotel, but Quirke has tended to sit at the side of the stage and let others do his bidding.
Quirke is invariably described by those who have dealt with him as a quiet, reserved man.Lowry describes him as businesslike, very ambitious and innovative.
Quirke gave a rare insight into his early days in business in a 1992 interview with the journalist Ursula Halligan for the Sunday Tribune, explaining why a substantial proportion of the profits from Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium would go to fund a transcendental-meditation centre at the former Richmond Hospital in central Dublin.
“Prior to 1982” – when he took up transcendental meditation – “I was probably 80 per cent dishonest in my dealings with other people. I mean, if I did a deal with you, and it was on a 50-50 basis, I wouldn’t be happy unless I got the lion’s share of 80-20 in my favour. I had no conscience. It didn’t bother me in the slightest.
“I would be at Mass on Sunday and I would stand up and sit down, stand up and sit down, as need be. But I would be plotting and scheming as to how I could rip off people during the rest of the week.”
Quirke declined to elaborate on those quotes when they were put to his public-relations adviser, Valerie O’Reilly, earlier this week.
Quirke was born in Thurles in November 1946 to Dan and Theresa Quirke. He has three sisters, Olive, Mary and Geralyn. His father was caretaker at the local greyhound track. Life was tough in Thurles in those days; the family grew up in “hard times”, says one local.
Quirke went to school at Thurles CBS, then became a garda. It was while he was on the beat in Dublin that he is said to have gained an insight into gaming and amusement arcades. In 1976 he set up a company called Dublin Pool and Juke Box Ltd, a holding entity for all his arcade activities, with an address in Bray, Co Wicklow.
Although he is best known today for Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium, on O’Connell Street, Quirke is said by those who know him to have operated arcade and slot machines “everywhere from Donegal to Kerry” over the past 35 years.
Dr Quirkey’s has proved to be a money-making machine, although the latest accounts show it has not been immune to the recession. Abridged accounts, which provide only partial financial information, show that Dublin Pool and Juke Box Ltd made a profit of €1.5 million in the 12 months to the end of June 2010. This was roughly a third of the profit of the previous year. The company had accumulated profits of €16.7 million at the year end.
Dublin Pool and Juke Box is also being used to buy land for the casino complex. The accounts show that it spent €6.7 million on “tangible fixed assets”.
Just how much Quirke is worth is a mystery. He is wealthy, but you will never see him feature in any rich list. He and his wife, Anne, were paid a generous €994,003 as directors of Dublin Pool and Juke Box last year, and €1.1 million in 2009.
It has been widely reported that he made more than €30 million some years ago from selling properties at the Carlton cinema site on O’Connell Street to the property developer Joe O’Reilly. Quirke originally pitched the Carlton site in a tendering process in the 1990s for a national convention centre. The competition was scrapped after a change of government in 1997.
Quirke subsequently became embroiled in a legal dispute with Dublin City Council over the Carlton site. The local authority wanted it developed as part of O’Connell Street’s regeneration and slapped a compulsory purchase order on the land. Quirke sold the site to O’Reilly, whose plan to build a retail complex was credit-crunched.
One former senior official at the council described Quirke as “not easy to deal with” and “single-minded”.
In addition to the arcades, Quirke has an extensive property portfolio. These include a number of sites in Dublin, the former Erin Foods factory in Co Tipperary and the old NEC Semiconductors plant in Co Meath, which he put on the market for €5.5 million.
He has access to a €3 million Sikorsky helicopter, held through a company he jointly owns, called Heli Med Ltd. And he is reported to have paid €5 million for his family home in Cabinteely, Co Dublin, shared with his wife and four children. One son, Wesley, is dating the former Miss World Rosanna Davison; the other, Andy, has made a name for himself posting videos on YouTube.
Quirke is estimated to have spent about €3.5 million on planning fees and charges to North Tipperary County Council, and about €30 million in total on land acquisition and other costs.
Michael Lowry has said that Quirke is committed to shelling out another €28 million of his own money on the next phase of the Tipperary Venue project, which will involve servicing the land.
Locals say Quirke has told them that no bank debt will be associated with the casino project. International investors are expected to back the project, possibly including a large international casino operator. All of this detail has been kept under wraps, and many people question the viability of the project.
This week’s planning approval was a major step forward for Quirke. But his huge punt will ultimately require a change in gambling legislation. Quirke has rolled the dice, but it could be a couple of years before he discovers if his expensive bet has paid off. Ciarán Hancock
Slot machines, poker, roulette, blackjack A morning at Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium
Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium, the amusement arcade on O’Connell Street in Dublin, is Richard Quirke’s best-known business.
By 11am one morning this week, an hour after it had opened, upwards of 100 people were inside. At the front of the emporium were slot machines and cranes that dispensed coins, stuffed toys and trinkets to winners. Farther back were hundreds of fruit machines and other amusements, featuring video games, poker, roulette and blackjack, among other games.
The deeper you went, the dimmer the place became. The lighting was red and blue neon, and the carpet had an old-fashioned pattern. Upstairs were ranks of pool tables.
Boys in school uniform played poker, women with babies in buggies operated two slot machines simultaneously, and a group of Asian men huddled over roulette tables. Everyone was intensely focused and silent.
The emporium has been associated with some notorious customers, including the victim in the “Scissor Sisters” murder of 2005, the Kenyan man Farah Swaleh Noor, who was beheaded.
The Chinese man Yu Jie, who was found guilty of murdering two Chinese women, in 2001, and burning their bodies, frequently played blackjack at the emporium. The court heard from his former employer that Jie had told her on one occasion that he had lost €1,000 in a single session.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
EVERYTHING ABOUT Two Mile Borris, even its name, is modest. It is a tiny community of one street that until this week was best known for winning the All-Ireland senior hurling championship in 1900, a fact commemorated by a curved stone wall in the middle of the Co Tipperary village.
On Monday the biggest news associated with Two Mile Borris in 111 years was announced: that planning permission for a €460-million, 325-hectare development nearby had been granted. The project, headed by the Thurles-born businessman Richard Quirke, will feature a casino, a 500-bedroom hotel, an all-weather racecourse and a replica of the White House. Permission was not granted for an entertainment venue with a retractable roof and a capacity of 15,000.
You can walk the length of Two Mile Borris – or Borris, as the locals call it – in less than a minute. It has a supermarket, two pubs (one with a small grocery attached), a working water pump, a church and a graveyard.
Martina and Martin Heffernan have run the village’s Gala supermarket for six years. When Martina speaks about the development she cannot stop grinning. “The excitement is fantastic. We’ve already had people in here inquiring about jobs,” she says. “If there are hundreds of people who’ll be working on the construction site, they’ll need to eat.” The Gala sells takeaway hot and cold food. “So many people are out of jobs. I had one woman saying to me that if she got a job at the casino she’d be able to go into town again and have her hair done.”
It’s estimated 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction of the complex; 2,000 jobs will be involved in the running of what’s formally known as the Tipperary Venue. “I have no worries about its success at all. I’m sure Mr Quirke has done his research,” Martina says. “And even if the high rollers don’t come, nobody will lose money on it, only Mr Quirke.”
Across the road at Corcoran’s pub, the only negative comment any of the bar’s customers has about the development is that permission was not granted for the entertainment venue.
Nobody there has ever been to a casino. “It’s lots of one-armed bandits, isn’t it?” asks a man who offers only his first name, Phil. “But the casino is only part of it, and I don’t know why the media keep going on about it. Nobody round here is interested in that. What we’re interested in is the racetrack and the equestrian centre. The casino is aimed at foreigners and sheikhs. What I want to know is: will we get in on race day for a tenner, like we do in Thurles?”
THE DEVELOPMENT PLANS also include a greyhound track, an 18-hole golf course, 20 shops, a four-pad heliport and parking for almost 6,000 vehicles. The eight-storey hotel will have a spa, a swimming pool, a cafe, two ballrooms, six shops, four restaurants and two bars. Along with the replica White House – to be known as the Hoban Memorial, after the Washington landmark’s Irish architect, James Hoban – with its banqueting halls, there will be a New England-style wooden chapel, where it is planned that weddings will be held.
An Bord Pleanála’s 77-page inspector’s report, published in April of this year, said of the Hoban Memorial: “It is very difficult not to consider the proposal as being comparable to the landmark features provided in other resorts elsewhere in the world where, to a large extent, they are seen somewhat as gimmicks to attract attention and provide distinctiveness.”
“The White House replica, that’s really about Quirke leaving his own mark on the place,” says Billy Lanigan, who owns Bannon’s bar. Lanigan says that, all in all, he welcomes the news that the development has been approved. His primary focus is on employment prospects, especially in the week that Tipperary discovered it was to lose another 133 jobs with the closure of the Johnson Johnson factory in Cashel.
“It might bring some people back to the area who’ve emigrated,” he says. “But I don’t know where all these people are going to come out of to visit that casino. It’s not for locals. You’d be bound to be wary about the scale of it, but these guys have done their research, and they obviously think it’s going to work.”
“I don’t think Irish people understand what a casino is,” says Paul Breen, one of Lanigan’s customers, who is home from Sydney, where he has lived for several years. Breen regularly goes to casinos in Australia. “A casino is not a gambling house. You go there for a range of entertainment: a show, drinks, dinner, then a game of blackjack or roulette. There’s a private upstairs gaming room for the high rollers, and everyone else is downstairs. But because of where this casino will be, it’s an overnight experience. In my opinion, 500 rooms is not nearly enough. Five thousand rooms would be more like it for a resort casino.”
The Bord Pleanála report summarised Richard Quirke’s justification of his proposal with the following lines: “All the best enterprises, tourist and employment generating schemes are speculative in nature. In a time where the economic outlook is bleak it is considered that the planning system should encourage and endeavour to facilitate all forms of development which are shown to have positive social-economic impacts.”
Nobody The Irish Times spoke to expressed any fear about the casino leading to gambling addiction in the area. Their view almost overwhelmingly was that they’d never been to a casino themselves and that Quirke’s ambitious development was clearly aiming to attract foreigners.
THE SITE OF THE development, less than two kilometres from Two Mile Borris, is a flat green area with a few houses scattered across it, and lines of poplar trees, not far from the new Dublin-Cork motorway. The car park is due to be in the facing field. An Bord Pleanála’s summary of the design concept says that “the board may consider that the scheme would not detract from, but rather improve and add to, the overall visual amenity of what is now a relatively flat, featureless, unpopulated rural landscape”.
Thurles, seven kilometres away, is the closest town to Two Mile Borris; it will be hoping to benefit from the development. “The first thing I have to say is how excited I am about it,” says Liam Campion, a butcher who owns a store in the town’s shopping centre. “It could put Thurles on the map. It could put the whole region on the map. And it means jobs. The only thing is that nobody knows if it’ll be a success or not. What we do know is that it’s not geared towards local people. At the moment, most Irish people can’t even afford to go to the pub.”
“I’m very pleased that the brainchild of our local TD, Michael Lowry, is going to be happening,” says Marion Ryan, who is sitting on a bench outside Dunnes Stores. “A lot of local people are celebrating. Progress has to be welcomed. It’s great for employment, and it’s something different. It’ll be very handy for people in Europe who want to go to Las Vegas. They won’t have to travel to America at all. They can come to Two Mile Borris instead.”
The man betting on Borris
ABOUT THREE YEARS ago, the Independent TD Michael Lowry and the Thurles-born millionaire businessman Richard Quirke met for the first time, in a farmhouse on land owned by Dick O’Connell, near Two Mile Borris. Sitting around the kitchen table over mugs of tea, Quirke outlined his big business idea to Lowry.
He wanted to build a €460-million leisure resort with a casino for high rollers, a golf course, a five-star hotel, dog and horseracing tracks, an indoor concert hall and a replica of the White House.
“My initial reaction was to be sceptical of it,” Lowry recalls. “I was taken aback by the enormity and scale of it all. But what impressed me most was the team Quirke had built around him of very high-reputation companies and individuals. I could see he meant business.”
Nothing much moves in north Tipp without Lowry’s support, and Quirke rightly calculated that he needed the influential TD on board if he was to win over the locals and negotiate the planning process. Lowry was also a useful media frontman for the hugely ambitious – some would say barking-mad – project, which this week cleared a major hurdle by securing a green light from An Bord Pleanála.
Quirke is painfully shy when it comes to the media. He hasn’t given a single meaningful interview to the fourth estate about the so-called Tipperary Venue since details of it first emerged, in 2008. All he has offered are some soundbites to RTÉ and TV3. Several public-information and planning meetings have been held in the well-known Horse Jockey hotel, but Quirke has tended to sit at the side of the stage and let others do his bidding.
Quirke is invariably described by those who have dealt with him as a quiet, reserved man.Lowry describes him as businesslike, very ambitious and innovative.
Quirke gave a rare insight into his early days in business in a 1992 interview with the journalist Ursula Halligan for the Sunday Tribune, explaining why a substantial proportion of the profits from Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium would go to fund a transcendental-meditation centre at the former Richmond Hospital in central Dublin.
“Prior to 1982” – when he took up transcendental meditation – “I was probably 80 per cent dishonest in my dealings with other people. I mean, if I did a deal with you, and it was on a 50-50 basis, I wouldn’t be happy unless I got the lion’s share of 80-20 in my favour. I had no conscience. It didn’t bother me in the slightest.
“I would be at Mass on Sunday and I would stand up and sit down, stand up and sit down, as need be. But I would be plotting and scheming as to how I could rip off people during the rest of the week.”
Quirke declined to elaborate on those quotes when they were put to his public-relations adviser, Valerie O’Reilly, earlier this week.
Quirke was born in Thurles in November 1946 to Dan and Theresa Quirke. He has three sisters, Olive, Mary and Geralyn. His father was caretaker at the local greyhound track. Life was tough in Thurles in those days; the family grew up in “hard times”, says one local.
Quirke went to school at Thurles CBS, then became a garda. It was while he was on the beat in Dublin that he is said to have gained an insight into gaming and amusement arcades. In 1976 he set up a company called Dublin Pool and Juke Box Ltd, a holding entity for all his arcade activities, with an address in Bray, Co Wicklow.
Although he is best known today for Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium, on O’Connell Street, Quirke is said by those who know him to have operated arcade and slot machines “everywhere from Donegal to Kerry” over the past 35 years.
Dr Quirkey’s has proved to be a money-making machine, although the latest accounts show it has not been immune to the recession. Abridged accounts, which provide only partial financial information, show that Dublin Pool and Juke Box Ltd made a profit of €1.5 million in the 12 months to the end of June 2010. This was roughly a third of the profit of the previous year. The company had accumulated profits of €16.7 million at the year end.
Dublin Pool and Juke Box is also being used to buy land for the casino complex. The accounts show that it spent €6.7 million on “tangible fixed assets”.
Just how much Quirke is worth is a mystery. He is wealthy, but you will never see him feature in any rich list. He and his wife, Anne, were paid a generous €994,003 as directors of Dublin Pool and Juke Box last year, and €1.1 million in 2009.
It has been widely reported that he made more than €30 million some years ago from selling properties at the Carlton cinema site on O’Connell Street to the property developer Joe O’Reilly. Quirke originally pitched the Carlton site in a tendering process in the 1990s for a national convention centre. The competition was scrapped after a change of government in 1997.
Quirke subsequently became embroiled in a legal dispute with Dublin City Council over the Carlton site. The local authority wanted it developed as part of O’Connell Street’s regeneration and slapped a compulsory purchase order on the land. Quirke sold the site to O’Reilly, whose plan to build a retail complex was credit-crunched.
One former senior official at the council described Quirke as “not easy to deal with” and “single-minded”.
In addition to the arcades, Quirke has an extensive property portfolio. These include a number of sites in Dublin, the former Erin Foods factory in Co Tipperary and the old NEC Semiconductors plant in Co Meath, which he put on the market for €5.5 million.
He has access to a €3 million Sikorsky helicopter, held through a company he jointly owns, called Heli Med Ltd. And he is reported to have paid €5 million for his family home in Cabinteely, Co Dublin, shared with his wife and four children. One son, Wesley, is dating the former Miss World Rosanna Davison; the other, Andy, has made a name for himself posting videos on YouTube.
Quirke is estimated to have spent about €3.5 million on planning fees and charges to North Tipperary County Council, and about €30 million in total on land acquisition and other costs.
Michael Lowry has said that Quirke is committed to shelling out another €28 million of his own money on the next phase of the Tipperary Venue project, which will involve servicing the land.
Locals say Quirke has told them that no bank debt will be associated with the casino project. International investors are expected to back the project, possibly including a large international casino operator. All of this detail has been kept under wraps, and many people question the viability of the project.
This week’s planning approval was a major step forward for Quirke. But his huge punt will ultimately require a change in gambling legislation. Quirke has rolled the dice, but it could be a couple of years before he discovers if his expensive bet has paid off. Ciarán Hancock
Slot machines, poker, roulette, blackjack A morning at Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium
Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium, the amusement arcade on O’Connell Street in Dublin, is Richard Quirke’s best-known business.
By 11am one morning this week, an hour after it had opened, upwards of 100 people were inside. At the front of the emporium were slot machines and cranes that dispensed coins, stuffed toys and trinkets to winners. Farther back were hundreds of fruit machines and other amusements, featuring video games, poker, roulette and blackjack, among other games.
The deeper you went, the dimmer the place became. The lighting was red and blue neon, and the carpet had an old-fashioned pattern. Upstairs were ranks of pool tables.
Boys in school uniform played poker, women with babies in buggies operated two slot machines simultaneously, and a group of Asian men huddled over roulette tables. Everyone was intensely focused and silent.
The emporium has been associated with some notorious customers, including the victim in the “Scissor Sisters” murder of 2005, the Kenyan man Farah Swaleh Noor, who was beheaded.
The Chinese man Yu Jie, who was found guilty of murdering two Chinese women, in 2001, and burning their bodies, frequently played blackjack at the emporium. The court heard from his former employer that Jie had told her on one occasion that he had lost €1,000 in a single session.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A bad bet by Bord Pleanála
JUST ONE month ago, former chairman of An Bord Pleanála John O’Connor publicly expressed his regret that the appeals board did not take a stronger stand against poorly designed and remotely located schemes during the boom years.
In a valedictory address, he also drew attention to the board’s record of protecting new motorways against “piggyback” local development and said the choice of location for major public or private sector projects should have a much stronger planning input, with planners involved from the outset and not merely “brought in to make the planning application afterwards”. Indeed, he found it “extraordinary” that developers and banks made significant decisions about land purchase and development without any apparent input by planners.
Now, in granting permission for most elements of the proposed Tipperary Venue outside Two-Mile-Borris, An Bord Pleanála has made a mockery of its former chairman’s views. It also made its decision in the face of an explicit recommendation from one of its own planning inspectors that permission should be refused for this outlandish proposal. Instead, the board went along with the views of Independent TD Michael Lowry and other backers of the project – with a Las Vegas-style “resort casino” as its financial engine and a full-scale replica of the White House in Washington DC as its eccentric emblem – that it would bring much-needed investment and employment to the area. Only a proposed 15,000-seat live music venue was rejected.
Promoter Richard Quirke, chiefly known as the operator of Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, must have been overjoyed by An Bord Pleanála’s approval for the casino, in particular, even though the Gaming and Lotteries Act would need to be amended to permit it to be licensed. All the Department of Justice has done so far was to publish a discussion document last December entitled Options for Regulating Gambling, one of which was to permit at least one “resort casino” of the type being planned for Two-Mile-Borris. The Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland, which represents the operators of private gaming clubs, has expressed doubt about whether a resort-style casino in Ireland would be able to sustain itself. After all, this is not Macau or, indeed, Las Vegas.
As planning inspector Pauline Fitzpatrick noted in her report on the Tipperary Venue, “good planning is based on ordered decision-making”. North Tipperary County Council had no qualms about approving the project, no doubt bearing in mind its value as a major generator of revenue from commercial rates. But An Bord Pleanála had a duty to uphold the principles of sustainable development and consistency with national and regional planning policies, and it singularly failed to do so. If Ireland needs a project of the type being proposed – and that is highly debatable – surely it should be located in, or at least adjoining, one of the gateway or hub towns identified by the National Spatial Strategy in 2002? A rural area outside Two-Mile-Borris, close to the M8 motorway, is emphatically not in this category.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a valedictory address, he also drew attention to the board’s record of protecting new motorways against “piggyback” local development and said the choice of location for major public or private sector projects should have a much stronger planning input, with planners involved from the outset and not merely “brought in to make the planning application afterwards”. Indeed, he found it “extraordinary” that developers and banks made significant decisions about land purchase and development without any apparent input by planners.
Now, in granting permission for most elements of the proposed Tipperary Venue outside Two-Mile-Borris, An Bord Pleanála has made a mockery of its former chairman’s views. It also made its decision in the face of an explicit recommendation from one of its own planning inspectors that permission should be refused for this outlandish proposal. Instead, the board went along with the views of Independent TD Michael Lowry and other backers of the project – with a Las Vegas-style “resort casino” as its financial engine and a full-scale replica of the White House in Washington DC as its eccentric emblem – that it would bring much-needed investment and employment to the area. Only a proposed 15,000-seat live music venue was rejected.
Promoter Richard Quirke, chiefly known as the operator of Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, must have been overjoyed by An Bord Pleanála’s approval for the casino, in particular, even though the Gaming and Lotteries Act would need to be amended to permit it to be licensed. All the Department of Justice has done so far was to publish a discussion document last December entitled Options for Regulating Gambling, one of which was to permit at least one “resort casino” of the type being planned for Two-Mile-Borris. The Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland, which represents the operators of private gaming clubs, has expressed doubt about whether a resort-style casino in Ireland would be able to sustain itself. After all, this is not Macau or, indeed, Las Vegas.
As planning inspector Pauline Fitzpatrick noted in her report on the Tipperary Venue, “good planning is based on ordered decision-making”. North Tipperary County Council had no qualms about approving the project, no doubt bearing in mind its value as a major generator of revenue from commercial rates. But An Bord Pleanála had a duty to uphold the principles of sustainable development and consistency with national and regional planning policies, and it singularly failed to do so. If Ireland needs a project of the type being proposed – and that is highly debatable – surely it should be located in, or at least adjoining, one of the gateway or hub towns identified by the National Spatial Strategy in 2002? A rural area outside Two-Mile-Borris, close to the M8 motorway, is emphatically not in this category.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Green light for €460m 'Las Vegas' complex
AN BORD Pleanála has given the go-ahead for the construction of a €460 million “Las Vegas-style” sports and leisure complex in Co Tipperary.
The 800-acre Tipperary Venue, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, will include a 500-bedroom five-star hotel; a 6,000sq m casino; an all-weather racecourse; a greyhound track and a golf course.
The site, which is located off the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway, will also feature a full-size replica of the White House in Washington which will be used as “a banqueting facility” and to host wedding receptions.
Planning permission for a 15,000-capacity underground entertainment centre was refused by An Bord Pleanála as it was deemed “inappropriate” given the location.
North Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the project last year but the case was appealed by some local residents and An Taisce.
Concerns included the level of traffic which would be generated by the venue, along with noise, carbon emissions, helicopter use, its distance from public transport and the sustainability of such a large-scale development.
An estimated 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the facility which is expected to take three years. Between 1,350 and 2,000 additional full-time positions are expected once the complex is completed.
The Tipperary Venue is the brainchild of developer Richard Quirke, a former garda from Thurles who is best known for running Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium gaming arcade on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
Mr Quirke issued a short statement: “I welcome this decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the Tipperary Venue project which advances the implementation of my vision and ambition for this site,” he said.
“I have instructed my design team and management to proceed to the next appropriate stages of the development.”
The venture has received support from the Coolmore Stud, Horse Sport Ireland, Bord na gCon, Shannon Development and Thurles Chamber of Commerce.
Planning permission is granted subject to 32 conditions which include an archaeological appraisal, details of noise monitoring and mitigation measures, and the carrying out of road safety procedures.
The developer is also required to make a financial contribution towards public infrastructure and facilities associated with the project.
The project is also still dependent on the Oireachtas passing proposed new legislation to enable the opening of casinos.
A consultation paper on legislative options for the gambling sector was published last December by then minister for justice Dermot Ahern.
The paper outlined a framework for licensing and regulating small-scale casinos which operate as members’ clubs and included a proposal to allow a “resort” casino similar to that proposed by the Tipperary Venue developers.
The report indicated support for a casino with multiple gaming tables with between 1,000 and 1,500 slot machines. It added it would not be desirable to allow more than one such large-scale resort.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The 800-acre Tipperary Venue, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, will include a 500-bedroom five-star hotel; a 6,000sq m casino; an all-weather racecourse; a greyhound track and a golf course.
The site, which is located off the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway, will also feature a full-size replica of the White House in Washington which will be used as “a banqueting facility” and to host wedding receptions.
Planning permission for a 15,000-capacity underground entertainment centre was refused by An Bord Pleanála as it was deemed “inappropriate” given the location.
North Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the project last year but the case was appealed by some local residents and An Taisce.
Concerns included the level of traffic which would be generated by the venue, along with noise, carbon emissions, helicopter use, its distance from public transport and the sustainability of such a large-scale development.
An estimated 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the facility which is expected to take three years. Between 1,350 and 2,000 additional full-time positions are expected once the complex is completed.
The Tipperary Venue is the brainchild of developer Richard Quirke, a former garda from Thurles who is best known for running Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium gaming arcade on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
Mr Quirke issued a short statement: “I welcome this decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the Tipperary Venue project which advances the implementation of my vision and ambition for this site,” he said.
“I have instructed my design team and management to proceed to the next appropriate stages of the development.”
The venture has received support from the Coolmore Stud, Horse Sport Ireland, Bord na gCon, Shannon Development and Thurles Chamber of Commerce.
Planning permission is granted subject to 32 conditions which include an archaeological appraisal, details of noise monitoring and mitigation measures, and the carrying out of road safety procedures.
The developer is also required to make a financial contribution towards public infrastructure and facilities associated with the project.
The project is also still dependent on the Oireachtas passing proposed new legislation to enable the opening of casinos.
A consultation paper on legislative options for the gambling sector was published last December by then minister for justice Dermot Ahern.
The paper outlined a framework for licensing and regulating small-scale casinos which operate as members’ clubs and included a proposal to allow a “resort” casino similar to that proposed by the Tipperary Venue developers.
The report indicated support for a casino with multiple gaming tables with between 1,000 and 1,500 slot machines. It added it would not be desirable to allow more than one such large-scale resort.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Lowry welcomes 'fantastic' boost for region
PROJECT LAUNCH ATTRACTED SUPPORT FROM HORSE RACING SECTOR: THE €460 million casino and leisure development proposed for Two-Mile-Borris will provide a huge economic fillip to Tipperary and the wider region, Independent TD Michael Lowry said yesterday.
“It’s fantastic news,” he said of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant permission to the Tipperary Venue, albeit without the 15,000-capacity indoor entertainment venue and against the recommendation of the board’s inspector.
He predicted that work on the basic infrastructure of the site – water, sewerage, roads, drainage, telecommunications – will start “by the end of the year” and that the entire scheme will take three years to complete.
Mr Lowry said the first time he met Richard Quirke was when the Tipperary-born businessman and former garda approached him about three years ago to inform him of his plans for the 800-acre site and to ask him for guidance through the planning process.
The refusal of permission for the indoor entertainment venue was not a setback, Mr Lowry maintained. “It was never the central element of the plan and there’s a lot of competition in that sector.”
Mr Lowry said he hoped the Minister for Justice would shortly bring forward legislation allowing venue operators to apply for a casino licence, based on the report of the Department of Justice’s Review Commission on Gaming.
An Taisce, which led opposition to the Tipperary Venue, said that the “split decision” of the board in granting permission to some elements of the project contravened the National Spatial Strategy policy of locating new development in existing designated regional centres, and national climate and transport policy in curtailing car-based development.
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley-Smith said the country has over-capacity of 15,000 hotel bedrooms. “The decision exacerbates the spectre of ghost developments. Once more this is evidence of short-term expediency and developer-led planning overriding national spatial plan and regional planning guidelines,” he said.
Thurles Chamber of Commerce president Austin Broderick said the news was “unbelievable for the town”. Completion of the Tipperary Venue would be “as good as getting three factories” in the area, he said. “This is what we’re waiting for for the last couple of years. We have nothing in Thurles and nothing in the surrounding areas regarding jobs.”
Fine Gael TD for Tipperary North Noel Coonan said he welcomed any development which would create jobs for the area.
“I’d be disappointed that the concert venue has been knocked on the head because that would have suited the younger people around the area,” he said.
“Overall I welcome it and we’ll be hoping it will be built as soon as possible.”
Mr Coonan said he had “no problem” working with his Independent constituency colleague Mr Lowry to help advance the project.
“We’ve assured Deputy Lowry that he might have brought forward the plans, but we’ll [Fine Gael] be building it and we’ll open it.”
The Gaming and Leisure Association in Ireland said that resort-casinos of the type envisaged by Mr Quirke are “simply inappropriate” in Ireland.
“The size of the market does not support these huge developments and they often run counter to sustainable development,” said the body which represents private members gaming clubs who provide casino-like services.
Association director David Hickson said there was now an opportunity to “grow the wider gaming and gambling sector”, as part of the department’s review of the industry. “All our members are city or town centre based and therefore in line with sustainable development.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
“It’s fantastic news,” he said of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant permission to the Tipperary Venue, albeit without the 15,000-capacity indoor entertainment venue and against the recommendation of the board’s inspector.
He predicted that work on the basic infrastructure of the site – water, sewerage, roads, drainage, telecommunications – will start “by the end of the year” and that the entire scheme will take three years to complete.
Mr Lowry said the first time he met Richard Quirke was when the Tipperary-born businessman and former garda approached him about three years ago to inform him of his plans for the 800-acre site and to ask him for guidance through the planning process.
The refusal of permission for the indoor entertainment venue was not a setback, Mr Lowry maintained. “It was never the central element of the plan and there’s a lot of competition in that sector.”
Mr Lowry said he hoped the Minister for Justice would shortly bring forward legislation allowing venue operators to apply for a casino licence, based on the report of the Department of Justice’s Review Commission on Gaming.
An Taisce, which led opposition to the Tipperary Venue, said that the “split decision” of the board in granting permission to some elements of the project contravened the National Spatial Strategy policy of locating new development in existing designated regional centres, and national climate and transport policy in curtailing car-based development.
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley-Smith said the country has over-capacity of 15,000 hotel bedrooms. “The decision exacerbates the spectre of ghost developments. Once more this is evidence of short-term expediency and developer-led planning overriding national spatial plan and regional planning guidelines,” he said.
Thurles Chamber of Commerce president Austin Broderick said the news was “unbelievable for the town”. Completion of the Tipperary Venue would be “as good as getting three factories” in the area, he said. “This is what we’re waiting for for the last couple of years. We have nothing in Thurles and nothing in the surrounding areas regarding jobs.”
Fine Gael TD for Tipperary North Noel Coonan said he welcomed any development which would create jobs for the area.
“I’d be disappointed that the concert venue has been knocked on the head because that would have suited the younger people around the area,” he said.
“Overall I welcome it and we’ll be hoping it will be built as soon as possible.”
Mr Coonan said he had “no problem” working with his Independent constituency colleague Mr Lowry to help advance the project.
“We’ve assured Deputy Lowry that he might have brought forward the plans, but we’ll [Fine Gael] be building it and we’ll open it.”
The Gaming and Leisure Association in Ireland said that resort-casinos of the type envisaged by Mr Quirke are “simply inappropriate” in Ireland.
“The size of the market does not support these huge developments and they often run counter to sustainable development,” said the body which represents private members gaming clubs who provide casino-like services.
Association director David Hickson said there was now an opportunity to “grow the wider gaming and gambling sector”, as part of the department’s review of the industry. “All our members are city or town centre based and therefore in line with sustainable development.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 13 June 2011
Tipperary casino complex granted planning permission
An Bord Pleanála has given the go-ahead for the construction of a €460 million "Las Vegas-style" sports and leisure complex in Co Tipperary.
The 800-acre Tipperary Venue, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, will include a 500-bedroom, five-star hotel; a 6,000sq m casino; an all-weather racecourse; a greyhound track and a golf course.
The site, which is located off the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway, will also feature a full-size replica of the White House in Washington which will be used as “a banqueting facility” and to host wedding receptions.
Planning permission for a 15,000-capacity underground entertainment centre was refused by An Bord Pleanála as it was deemed "inappropriate" given the location.
North Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the project last year but the case was appealed to the board by some local residents and An Taisce.
Concerns included the level of traffic which would be generated by the venue, along with noise, carbon emissions, helicopter use, its distance from public transport and the sustainability of such a large-scale development.
An estimated 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the facility which is expected to take three years. Between 1,350 and 2,000 additional full-time positions are expected once the complex is completed.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The 800-acre Tipperary Venue, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, will include a 500-bedroom, five-star hotel; a 6,000sq m casino; an all-weather racecourse; a greyhound track and a golf course.
The site, which is located off the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway, will also feature a full-size replica of the White House in Washington which will be used as “a banqueting facility” and to host wedding receptions.
Planning permission for a 15,000-capacity underground entertainment centre was refused by An Bord Pleanála as it was deemed "inappropriate" given the location.
North Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the project last year but the case was appealed to the board by some local residents and An Taisce.
Concerns included the level of traffic which would be generated by the venue, along with noise, carbon emissions, helicopter use, its distance from public transport and the sustainability of such a large-scale development.
An estimated 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the facility which is expected to take three years. Between 1,350 and 2,000 additional full-time positions are expected once the complex is completed.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 14 March 2011
Hotel dependent on casino, says promoter
THE HOTEL element of a €460 million sports and leisure complex planned for a rural site in Co Tipperary will not go ahead if a proposed casino is not allowed, promoters have said.
A “resort casino hotel” with up to 500 bedrooms is part of the “Tipperary Venue” earmarked for an 800-acre site at Two-Mile-Borris near Thurles.
While gambling legislation is currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice, the venue’s architect said yesterday the hotel and the casino “are effectively one” and dependent on each other.
The Tipperary Venue also includes turf and all-weather horse racing tracks, a greyhound track, a 15,000-capacity indoor entertainment venue, a golf course and an equestrian centre.
Businessman Richard Quirke is behind the venture, while Independent TD Michael Lowry has been a keen supporter. They say about 1,000 jobs will be created during construction of the venue, while 1,350 full-time jobs would be in place when complete.
Architect Brian O’Connell told the third day of a Bord Pleanála hearing into the project the hotel/casino “is predicated on the licensing regime” and would depend on the Government’s decision regarding casino laws.
“There’s a new economic opportunity within the market for providing conference facilities within a casino hotel,” he said.
“The one wouldn’t proceed without the other.”
However, he said this would not affect the rest of the proposed complex.
The horse-racing aspect of the project is supported by Horse Racing Ireland, which invited expressions of interest for the development of an all-weather track in the Munster region some years ago.
Existing tracks in Thurles and Tipperary (Limerick Junction) are expected to close if the Tipperary Venue gets the green light.
During questioning by sustainable planning expert and barrister James Nix for An Taisce, Mr O’Connell said the urban locations of venues such as the O2 in Dublin and the Odyssey Arena in Belfast were “inappropriate”. This was because of the influx of large numbers of people into an urban setting in a short period of time.
There was a “strong argument” for building such venues outside city locations.
North Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the project last year but the case was appealed to the board by some local residents and An Taisce.
Concerns include the level of traffic which would be generated by the venue, along with noise, carbon emissions, helicopter use, its distance from public transport and the sustainability of such a large-scale development.
The hearing concluded yesterday, and a decision is due at the end of this month.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A “resort casino hotel” with up to 500 bedrooms is part of the “Tipperary Venue” earmarked for an 800-acre site at Two-Mile-Borris near Thurles.
While gambling legislation is currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice, the venue’s architect said yesterday the hotel and the casino “are effectively one” and dependent on each other.
The Tipperary Venue also includes turf and all-weather horse racing tracks, a greyhound track, a 15,000-capacity indoor entertainment venue, a golf course and an equestrian centre.
Businessman Richard Quirke is behind the venture, while Independent TD Michael Lowry has been a keen supporter. They say about 1,000 jobs will be created during construction of the venue, while 1,350 full-time jobs would be in place when complete.
Architect Brian O’Connell told the third day of a Bord Pleanála hearing into the project the hotel/casino “is predicated on the licensing regime” and would depend on the Government’s decision regarding casino laws.
“There’s a new economic opportunity within the market for providing conference facilities within a casino hotel,” he said.
“The one wouldn’t proceed without the other.”
However, he said this would not affect the rest of the proposed complex.
The horse-racing aspect of the project is supported by Horse Racing Ireland, which invited expressions of interest for the development of an all-weather track in the Munster region some years ago.
Existing tracks in Thurles and Tipperary (Limerick Junction) are expected to close if the Tipperary Venue gets the green light.
During questioning by sustainable planning expert and barrister James Nix for An Taisce, Mr O’Connell said the urban locations of venues such as the O2 in Dublin and the Odyssey Arena in Belfast were “inappropriate”. This was because of the influx of large numbers of people into an urban setting in a short period of time.
There was a “strong argument” for building such venues outside city locations.
North Tipperary County Council granted planning permission for the project last year but the case was appealed to the board by some local residents and An Taisce.
Concerns include the level of traffic which would be generated by the venue, along with noise, carbon emissions, helicopter use, its distance from public transport and the sustainability of such a large-scale development.
The hearing concluded yesterday, and a decision is due at the end of this month.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Casino venue could attract Breeders' Cup, says O'Brien
THE MULTIMILLION dollar Breeders’ Cup horse racing fixture could leave the United States and come to Ireland if a planned sporting and leisure complex goes ahead, said racehorse trainer Aidan O’Brien.
Mr O’Brien and his wife Anne-Marie yesterday expressed support for the €460 million “Tipperary Venue”, which would include a hotel and casino, racetrack and 15,000-person capacity indoor entertainment venue.
The couple made a submission to the second day of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into plans by businessman Richard Quirke to develop the multifaceted project on an 800-acre site at Two-Mile Borris near Thurles. Mr O’Brien trains horses at Ballydoyle stables near Cashel in Co Tipperary.
The O’Briens said the organisers of the Breeders’ Cup – the self-styled world championship of flat racing, which has been held each November since 1984 – had expressed interest in staging the two-day fixture in Europe.
No European venue currently has the necessary grass and artificial surfaces to stage what is the world’s most valuable race meeting but, said Ms O’Brien, “The Tipperary Venue will be the first European track capable of hosting a Breeders’ Cup meeting.”
She said the development would be a sustainable and environmentally friendly addition to Irish horse racing.
“The proposed development is not dependent on grants. This is a wonderful opportunity for racing to create something unique and unrivalled and serve as a flagship racecourse for the industry,” she said.
Coolmore Stud in Fethard, Co Tipperary, has also thrown its weight behind the proposed development, as has the Irish Greyhound Board. Horse Sport Ireland chief executive Damian McDonald told the hearing the venue could also host the World Equestrian Games.
Mr Quirke, a former garda whose business interests include Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium amusement arcade in Dublin, wants to build a 500-bed hotel and casino, golf course, greyhound racing circuit and equestrian centre as well as turf and all-weather horse racing tracks on the site.
The project, which includes a replica of the White House in memory of its Kilkenny-born designer, James Hoban, secured planning permission from North Tipperary County Council last October. However, following appeals by local residents and An Taisce, An Bord Pleanála announced a public hearing.
Concerns include the volume of traffic that would be generated by the venue, as well as helicopter activity, noise and other emissions. An Taisce questioned the viability of elements of the scheme and said under current legislation a casino would not be permitted.
Local resident Pat Blake told the hearing he was opposed to the project because of the casino element. “My concern would be the gambling one. I think there would be untold damage done,” he said.
The hearing continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr O’Brien and his wife Anne-Marie yesterday expressed support for the €460 million “Tipperary Venue”, which would include a hotel and casino, racetrack and 15,000-person capacity indoor entertainment venue.
The couple made a submission to the second day of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into plans by businessman Richard Quirke to develop the multifaceted project on an 800-acre site at Two-Mile Borris near Thurles. Mr O’Brien trains horses at Ballydoyle stables near Cashel in Co Tipperary.
The O’Briens said the organisers of the Breeders’ Cup – the self-styled world championship of flat racing, which has been held each November since 1984 – had expressed interest in staging the two-day fixture in Europe.
No European venue currently has the necessary grass and artificial surfaces to stage what is the world’s most valuable race meeting but, said Ms O’Brien, “The Tipperary Venue will be the first European track capable of hosting a Breeders’ Cup meeting.”
She said the development would be a sustainable and environmentally friendly addition to Irish horse racing.
“The proposed development is not dependent on grants. This is a wonderful opportunity for racing to create something unique and unrivalled and serve as a flagship racecourse for the industry,” she said.
Coolmore Stud in Fethard, Co Tipperary, has also thrown its weight behind the proposed development, as has the Irish Greyhound Board. Horse Sport Ireland chief executive Damian McDonald told the hearing the venue could also host the World Equestrian Games.
Mr Quirke, a former garda whose business interests include Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium amusement arcade in Dublin, wants to build a 500-bed hotel and casino, golf course, greyhound racing circuit and equestrian centre as well as turf and all-weather horse racing tracks on the site.
The project, which includes a replica of the White House in memory of its Kilkenny-born designer, James Hoban, secured planning permission from North Tipperary County Council last October. However, following appeals by local residents and An Taisce, An Bord Pleanála announced a public hearing.
Concerns include the volume of traffic that would be generated by the venue, as well as helicopter activity, noise and other emissions. An Taisce questioned the viability of elements of the scheme and said under current legislation a casino would not be permitted.
Local resident Pat Blake told the hearing he was opposed to the project because of the casino element. “My concern would be the gambling one. I think there would be untold damage done,” he said.
The hearing continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Appeals body to host hearing into casino
AN ORAL hearing to discuss objections to a planned casino venue in Tipperary is set to take place on March 8th.
The State planning appeals board, An Bord Pleanála, has decided to host the oral hearing to discuss the planned €460 million development near Thurles.
A final decision is expected to be made before next June.
If the business venture gets the go-ahead, it is expected to create 2,000 full-time jobs. A further 1,000 people will be employed during the three years of construction.
The planned 800-acre development will be known as the Tipperary Venue and the chief investor is Dublin-based businessman Richard Quirke.
A former garda from Thurles, he is best known in the gaming industry for his Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium.
The ambitious project includes a racecourse featuring a national hunt track, sprint track and all-weather floodlit track.
A 500-room hotel is also planned to incorporate a casino and the centrepiece of the venue will be a replica of the White House in Washington, in homage to local man James Hoban, who designed the original building.
A golf course and greyhound track and a 15,000-seat entertainment venue are also planned.
The Tipperary Venue is also being backed by racehorse trainer Aidan O’Brien, concert promoter Denis Desmond and local Independent TD, Michael Lowry.
The oral hearing is to take place at the Horse and Jockey Hotel close to the town of Thurles.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The State planning appeals board, An Bord Pleanála, has decided to host the oral hearing to discuss the planned €460 million development near Thurles.
A final decision is expected to be made before next June.
If the business venture gets the go-ahead, it is expected to create 2,000 full-time jobs. A further 1,000 people will be employed during the three years of construction.
The planned 800-acre development will be known as the Tipperary Venue and the chief investor is Dublin-based businessman Richard Quirke.
A former garda from Thurles, he is best known in the gaming industry for his Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium.
The ambitious project includes a racecourse featuring a national hunt track, sprint track and all-weather floodlit track.
A 500-room hotel is also planned to incorporate a casino and the centrepiece of the venue will be a replica of the White House in Washington, in homage to local man James Hoban, who designed the original building.
A golf course and greyhound track and a 15,000-seat entertainment venue are also planned.
The Tipperary Venue is also being backed by racehorse trainer Aidan O’Brien, concert promoter Denis Desmond and local Independent TD, Michael Lowry.
The oral hearing is to take place at the Horse and Jockey Hotel close to the town of Thurles.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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