Greyhound drug testing report may be delayed
The report of retired civil servant Tim Dalton into the decision by Bord na gCon’s drug control committee to suppress publication of two positive EPO tests has been handed over to the Attorney General who is studying the findings.
Mr Dalton, the former secretary general of the Department of Justice, also examined the circumstances surrounding the sacking of Bord na gCon’s chief executive Aidan Tynan, the role of chairman Pascal Taggart in the affair; as well as wider issues of corporate governance.
It was also claimed yesterday that a public relations consultancy may have been paid as much as €20,000 for its work on the press conference Mr Taggart held to defend his position.
Labour Party deputy Brian O’Shea asked Sports Minister John O’Donoghue in the Dáil if it was true that a consultancy was paid the sum for the high-profile conference in Shelbourne Park in early February.
“Is the matter dealt with in Mr Dalton’s report? Does the minister approve of expenditure of that nature?” asked Mr O’Shea.
He pointed out that the press conference took place after Mr Dalton began his inquiries and asked whether Mr Dalton had included the press conference and the costs related to it in the report.
The Minister would not be drawn on any detail of the report. He added, however, that he asked all parties to desist from making any public comment.
Mr O’Donoghue confirmed to the Dáil yesterday that since receiving the report on April 5, he has been considering its contents in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General.
That process is expected to taken at least two weeks at which stage Mr O’Donoghue will bring the report to Cabinet before deciding on further action.
Mr O’Donoghue said he intends to publish the report though it may be late May before he is in a position to do so.
Fine Gael’s spokesman on sport, Jimmy Deenihan, said the report should be published as soon as possible so as not to cause further disruption to the industry.
The controversy erupted in January when Mr Tynan wrote to the minister disclosing details of positive EPO findings on dogs trained by two trainers, one of whom was Paul Hennessy, the leading trainer in the country.
He said the Mr Taggart-chaired doping control committee had decided not to publish the findings contrary to policy. A week later Mr Tynan was dismissed.
Mr Taggart has maintained the two events were unrelated.
