Horse sense adds to fortunes of Irish elite

Current Account: The recent Sunday Times Rich List placed Mr JP McManus as the country's eighth-wealthiest man with €538 million. It also refers to the fact he owns more than 100 racehorses.

Those redoubtable animals have been doing their bit to add to his fortune. They have been winning impressive amounts of prize money on both sides of the Irish Sea over the course of the national hunt racing season, which is due to end at Punchestown next week.

In the UK, his horses have captured almost €1.24 million in win and place money. Here they have netted €1 million. However, let's hope he has not been backing all of them. According to Racing Post statistics, a level €1 on all his runners in the UK this season would have lost you €36.59, while putting the same money on all his Irish runners would have lost you €76.82.

The same statistics show that another Rich List inhabitant, Ryanair's Mr Michael O'Leary, is also lucky with his horses. His Gigginstown House Stud features in the prize money, with eight out of 40 runners this season helping him to rack up €87,405 in prize money. And the Malm Syndicate, whose membership includes former minister, Mr Michael Lowry, netted €79,081.

Donie ups ante in backbench PR battle

One of the few chances for backbenchers to shine in the ever more disciplined political circles is in the committee system. Getting a leading position on any of several committees debating hot topics carries more potential for column inches than most junior ministries.

Donie Cassidy has gone one better. Having dragged hearings into the reform of the Irish motor insurance market out over close to a year at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business, the good chairman appears to feel he is not quite securing the necessary political capital from the exercise.

He has drafted in the polished skills of PR professionals Fleishman Hillard Saunders to put the case for his committee to the people ahead of its meeting this week.

The ensuing press release thundered that "the uncompetitive actions allegedly practised by some insurance brokers are to be investigated".

Of course, the Competition Authority has already been over this ground.

"It is this committee's job to investigate every area of the insurance sector in order to identify problems, and push through much needed reform," said Deputy Cassidy.

To the best of Current Account's knowledge, any reform pushed through on the insurance issue has followed the landmark report from the Motor Insurance Advisory Board.

Maybe the committee could turn its attention to investigating who is going to pay the bill for the PR blitz. Current Account cannot find an established budget heading that would cover it.

Goodman eyes Africa

Is Larry Goodman Africa bound? The beef baron was one of the attendees at this week's private sector forum organised by Development Co-operation Ireland to try to interest Irish business in investing in the private sector in Africa.

The forum was told that there were very real problems about doing business in sub-Saharan Africa, not least corruption. But the rewards are also there for people prepared to take a long-term view.

"It is not a place to dip in and out to make a quick buck," the forum was told by Niall FitzGerald, the outgoing head of Unilever and something of an old Africa hand.

Sounds like the spot for Larry, as few can play the long game as well the Louth man.

Sherry Fitz defection

The high-level defections from auctioneers DTZ Sherry FitzGerald seem to be continuing apace. This week, Waterford Wedgwood announced that it was appointing Mr Paul Dalton, a one-time Bank of Ireland chief financial officer, to the same position in that company.

Mr Dalton had been working as a consultant for a period since leaving Bank of Ireland, but DTZ actually appointed him to replace Mr Seán McCormack late last year. Waterford's announcement now means that he will join the likes of Mr James Meagher, Mr Declan Reilly and Mr Adrian Truick, who all left senior posts within the DTZ division of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald in recent months.