Greyhound boss resigns ‘before he is pushed’

CONTROVERSIAL Bord na gCon chairman Paschal Taggart jumped before he was pushed, reliable Government sources said last night.

Mr Taggart announced yesterday that he would be retiring from the position he has held for a decade on Friday, six months ahead of the resignation date he had agreed with Sports Minister John O’Donoghue. His statement was issued on the eve of the publication of the Dalton Report into the events surrounding the sacking of chief executive Aidan Tynan last January, particularly the decision of Bord na gCon’s doping control committee, headed by Mr Taggart, to suppress the publication of two positive tests for the banned blood booster, EPO. One finding related to dogs trained by Paul Hennessy, the country’s most successful greyhound trainer.

It also comes three days before Mr Taggart’s appearance before the Dáil’s powerful watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee. In his statement yesterday, Mr Taggart said he would be honouring that commitment.

The outspoken businessman has presided over the greyhound industry during a period of strong growth, but his tenure has caused deep division.

A reliable Government source told the Irish Examiner last night that the Dalton Report had effectively ended Mr Taggart’s chairmanship.

They pointed to one of the key findings of former secretary general of the Justice Department, Tim Dalton, that no person should stay in such a position for longer than 10 years.

“Once the report was issued, that would have been the end of his tenure. He would have been asked to resign and make way for a new chairperson,” said the source.

However, even without the report’s reference to a maximum period, the sources accepted that Mr O’Donoghue would have no choice but to move.

The report is critical of aspects of Mr Taggart’s management style in addition to his handling of the EPO cases and the sacking of Mr Tynan, which it said raised issues of natural justice.

It is also understood that the minister was annoyed after Mr Taggart repeatedly defied his requests to desist from any comment until Mr Dalton’s report was published.

“There was a frustration there. He was clearly defying what the minister had said. Something had to happen,” said the source.

Before writing to the minister yesterday, there was no communication between Mr Taggart and Mr O’Donoghue in recent weeks.

The department said yesterday that it had not asked Mr Taggart to resign.

In his resignation letter to Mr O’Donoghue, Mr Taggart said it would be more appropriate for his successor to be involved in the recruitment process of the incoming CEO. He also pointed to the success the industry has enjoyed in the past 10 years.