Bord na gCon chairman Paschal Taggart will this morning go ahead with a press conference, against the wishes of Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue, writes Barry O'Halloran
Mr Taggart plans to hold the conference at Shelbourne Park greyhound track in Dublin to give his position on the doping controversy.
This week, the Minister appointed a former Department of Justice secretary general, Tim Dalton, to inquire into that row and the sacking of the board's chief executive, Aidan Tynan.
Mr O'Donoghue warned yesterday he did not want anyone involved in the controversy discussing the dispute with the media until the inquiry was completed.
"I am aware that some of the matters under inquiry may be exciting people to brief the media," he said. "I consider that distinctly unhelpful due to the fact that the inquiry is ongoing."
Mr Taggart however yesterday vowed to go ahead with today's press conference. He said he would not discuss Mr Tynan's sacking, but would deal with the other issues. He declared he would not allow the media to hound him out of his position.
Mr O'Donoghue's office did not comment on Mr Taggart's statement.
The controversy blew up when it emerged that last November, Bord na gCon's disciplinary body fined two greyhound trainers, Paul Hennessy and John Kiely, €1,000 each because their dogs tested positive for a banned substance, erythropoietin (EPO), after races in Dublin last summer. While Bord na gCon normally publishes details of such hearings in two trade papers, it decided against doing so in this case.
Mr Taggart and other members said it would not be in the industry's interest and argued it was the first time EPO had shown up in tests. The board only began testing for the drug last year.
Some members believed trainers were using it to treat illnesses in their dogs, though EPO is not licensed for this purpose.
On January 18th, Mr Tynan wrote to the Minister expressing concern at the decision not to publish the hearing's outcome. The board sacked him last week. He then began legal action, but settled this on Tuesday.
Mr Taggart has insisted Mr Tynan's dismissal was not connected with his decision to write to the Minister about the disciplinary hearing. He says there were ongoing differences between the board and Mr Tynan over management and running costs.