Irish Greyhound Board refuses to reveal legal payments

The Irish Greyhound Board has refused to state how much it paid out on three High Court settlements this year.

The board, which received millions in public funds, has confirmed it has settled two cases relating to the drugging of a dog under its care as well as a third separate case.

The board could be forced to pay out more in legal settlements after it revealed that two other cases are still before the courts.

The Irish Greyhound Board received €10.8m in government grants in 2014 and had bank borrowings of €22.7m last year, which the comptroller and auditor general yesterday said “is little changed year on year”.

Appearing at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) members of the board refused to disclose the cost of legal settlements.

Fianna Fáil’s Sean Fleming said not disclosing any large payouts “cannot be tolerated”, given the amount of State funding the organisation receives.

“You are not really a commercial organisation, you could not survive without taxpayers’ money,” he said.

Phil Meaney, chairman of the Irish Greyhound Board said: “Yes it was a six-figure sum,” adding at a later stage of the meeting that the costs would be under €1m.

He said two other court cases are still underway — one relating to a property transaction dating back to 1996 and the other was described as a “personal matter”.

Mr Meaney said that none of the current board was in place when the incident occurred in 2010.

One case was taken by a trainer against a board member, while the second was against the board and Shelbourne Park.

The court action was taken after the greyhound Tullymurry Act was found to have been given a sedative after he was presented at Shelbourne Park on the night of the 2010 derby final.

The dog, trained by Patrick Buckley, trailed off to come in last. When the case first came before the High Court, Mr Buckley claimed the negligence of the board on the night damaged his reputation and his business.

He said that, following the incident, his earnings as a trainer fell from more than €370,000 a year to less than €50,000.

At the committee meeting yesterday, Mr Meaney, a member of Fine Gael, was accused of being appointed due to his political leanings and had been “rewarded for loyalty”. TD Shane Ross claimed Mr Meaney had been a central figure in the party who had worked hard to get three Fine Gael candidates elected in the Carlow/ Kilkenny constituency.

“It is a great pity that you, as a prominent member of Fine Gael, that you were interviewed by a Fine Gael minister and given the job without any vetting procedures,” said Mr Ross.

Mr Meaney admitted he was a member of Fine Gael but said: “Politics was not discussed” during his interview to which Mr Ross replied: “It didn’t need to be”.

Separately, PAC members called for measure to be brought in to allow them look into the cost of inquires before they begin. PAC chairman John McGuinness said there should be some restraint on costs before any investigation begins.