Greyhound doping - Taggart must go for good of the sport

PASCHAL Taggart, the embattled chairman of Bord na gCon, should resign.

That’s the inevitable corollary of the mounting controversy surrounding his tenure of office at the controlling body of Irish greyhound racing.

New claims that Mr Taggart sought to dictate his own candidate as chief executive of Bord na gCon against the wishes of Board members leave him with no choice but to resign.

Alarmingly, in a High Court application, a board member describes as “dangerous” Mr Taggart’s attempts to impose his authority and over-rule the majority decision of a committee which had interviewed candidates for the top job.

Yet, as Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte last night called for a clearing out of the board, the increasingly embattled chairman yesterday denied he was a “bully.”

Against this backdrop, public confidence in the standing of the greyhound industry’s is waning.

The Government should not tolerate a scenario in which an organisation that received €70 million of taxpayer’s money in State aid, is perceived as the personal fiefdom of a wealthy businessman.

Astonishingly, no minutes were kept of doping meetings, while severance settlements with ex-State officials were tied up in confidential gagging deals despite public money being involved.

Significantly, this vexed issue reached the floor of the Dáil yesterday following Irish Examiner revelations that huge settlements had been paid out in secret to ex-officials.

Raising questions about the scope of the inquiry ordered by Sports Minister John O’Donoghue into developments at Bord na gCon, Mr Rabbitte asked whether the probe by ex-Department of Justice official Tim Dalton referred solely to last week’s sacking of chief executive Aidan Tynan or if it would delve into the full gamut of its murky affairs.

Punters and disinterested observers alike will welcome Tánaiste Mary Harney’s assurance of a full inquiry into all matters involving Bord na gCon.

In his letter to the minister, the sacked executive expressed concern at the board’s decision not to publish details of a doping hearing in November involving the use of EPO, a performance-enhancing drug, on two dogs owned by well-known trainers, who were each fined €1,000.

Mr Dalton will require all his experience, not just to penetrate the dark world of greyhound racing but to elicit the truth behind the scandal as the use of EPO was swept under the carpet.

Though a confidential settlement has since been reached with Mr Tynan, it is imperative for the on-going probe to be completed.

While Mr Taggart emphatically denies there was any connection between the letter and Mr Tynan’s summary dismissal, serious questions remain unanswered about how Ireland’s multi-million euro greyhound industry is being run.

In a bizarre twist, Mr Taggart urged greyhound owners to turn up in numbers at a planned press conference in Shelbourne Park where he promised the whole story would be revealed.

There is no gainsaying Paschal Taggart’s role in building greyhound racing to a €50m industry. But nor is there any denying the perception that the board is under his thumb. The organisation is characterised by a chronic lack of transparency and public accountability.

The public has a right to know why Aidan Tynan was fired, why details of doping were withheld from publication, and why the greyhound industry is mired in damaging controversies over alleged irregularities and dog doping.

At the end of the day, if Mr Taggart refuses to fall on his sword, the Government should seek his head.