Cabinet to discuss report into sacking of greyhound board chief

THE report into the controversial sacking of the Bord na gCon chief executive will be discussed by the Cabinet today, the Irish Examiner understands.

However, the report is not likely to be made public for another few weeks, to allow the principal parties involved to respond to its findings.

The report has been written by Tim Dalton, the former secretary general of the Department of Justice.

It follows his inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of former greyhound board boss Aidan Tynan and whether or not it was linked to concerns he raised about the non-publication of positive EPO findings by the control committee of Bord na gCon, chaired by Paschal Taggart.

Mr Tynan was sacked in January, a few days after he wrote to Sports Minister John O’Donoghue raising his concerns about two positive findings of the banned blood booster EPO. He said the board’s control committee decided to suppress the findings, contrary to stated policy.

Mr Taggart has consistently dismissed the contention that Mr Tynan’s dismissal was related to the row over EPO.

Mr Dalton’s assessment was initially expected to take only a number of weeks but its remit was widened to look at wider issues of governance within Bord na gCon.

Mr Dalton submitted his report to Mr O’Donoghue in early April and the minister has been studying its findings since then, in conjunction with the Attorney General.

The report is expected to make strong findings in relation to governance. However, the nub will be Mr Dalton’s determination on the reason for Mr Tynan’s dismissal.

Mr Taggart, a successful businessman, has been chairman of Bord na gCon for a decade, at a time when the industry has enjoyed unprecedented growth.

However, his stewardship of the industry and his style have led to criticism from his detractors.

The event which gave rise to the controversy was the first positive findings of EPO in greyhound racing in Ireland.

Two trainers, Paul Hennessy from Kilkenny and John Kiely from Cork, were both fined last November for allowing EPO to be administered to racing dogs.

However, though both were fined, the control committee chaired by Mr Taggart took the unusual step of not publicising the findings in the racing press, contrary to the board’s own policies on drugs control.

Mr Taggart said that this decision was taken because they were the first positive findings ever in Ireland and also because publication would have had a negative impact on the industry.