Bord na gCon litigation cost €3.9m in six years

BORD na gCon, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, has a history of litigation that cost the semi-state body in excess of €3.9 million in the period 2000-2006.

The single biggest settlement, costing in excess of €1.4m in March of last year, followed a settlement with a company providing tote operation services. The figure was made up of €500,000 in damages and nearly €940,000 in costs.

During the 2000-2006 period, a total of 24 severance packages cost the body €2.3m.

The single biggest payout was €561,000 to a former chief executive, Aidan Tynan, in January of 2006. A head of regulation, John Garrihy, received €532,000 after High Court proceedings had been issued.

A personnel and development manager, Dermot Cross, received €412,804 last November after the board settled when Employment Appeals Tribunal proceeding were issued.

In another case, Bord na gCon awarded a company €18,690 after a sign was removed from Shelbourne Park. The matter was settled after court proceedings were issued.

The draft report was also critical of a catering contract awarded at the Kingdom Greyhound Track in Tralee, Co Kerry. The board paid out €79,358 in compensation to two unsuccessful tenders due to the way the contract was awarded.

Although a closing date for tenders had been set, four tenders were submitted after the closing date and the board allowed an amendment to one of the four received on time. No record of interviews or the decision-making process or scoring sheets were available to the comptroller.

The one-year contract was given to the tenderer who was allowed to submit a replacement tender.

Two unsuccessful tenderers took legal action on the basis that Bord na gCon had failed to complete an open and transparent public procurement process, as required by Department of Finance guidelines for semi-state companies.

The board settled with one contractor for €50,789 and with the other for a sum of €28,569.

Legal costs incurred by the board were not quantified.

The report states: “It is not acceptable for a state body to change the rules of a competition once started and give one tender an opportunity to alter its bid without affording an equal opportunity to others.”

The report also found there was no evidence of tenders or contracts for security services at greyhound tracks for a period from April 2000 to April 2004.

A total of €385,581 was paid out in respect of security services at Dublin tracks but it had been provided by a building overseer appointed by the board, or through a company believed to be controlled by this person.