The chairman of the Civil Defence Board was sacked yesterday by the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, after a dispute over moving its offices to Co Tipperary.
The Minister removed Dr Michael Ryan from the board yesterday and appointed a Co Meath businessman, Mr Patrick J. Cooney, in his place.
Dr Ryan was sent a fax informing him of his removal, and said he would be seeking a High Court injunction to challenge it.
Dr Ryan, a Limerick business consultant, had challenged moves by Mr Smith to move the board from Dublin to the Minister's hometown of Roscrea, arguing that premises chosen for the relocation are unsuitable.
While the new site for the board's office is co-owned by a former Fianna Fáil councillor, Mr Sean Mulrooney, the Minister has said he had no part in the choice of the location by the Office of Public Works and favoured an alternative site.
Mr Cooney is managing director of the Gleeson Group, a drinks distributor, and a former chairman of Coillte, the State forestry board.
Dr Ryan, a former garda and IDA Ireland official, said: "I have received notice of my removal as a member of the board by the Minister by fax, and my legal team are currently preparing for a High Court injunction."
The removal of Dr Ryan comes after an investigation by the Department of Defence into his objection to the move to Roscrea.
Among other findings, the investigation took issue with the commissioning of legal advice from a senior counsel in relation to the decentralisation.
Last night the Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said it seemed that anyone objecting to decentralisation could be subject to the same unreasonable pressure.
"The fact that the Minister chose to make this decision at a time when the media are likely to be distracted by the controversy surrounding the Bush visit merely demonstrates that the Minister is reluctant to face public scrutiny," Mr Rabbitte said.
Mr Smith wrote to Dr Ryan last month asking him to stand down from the honorary position, but Dr Ryan refused to go.
Dr Ryan declined to discuss the details of his legal team's correspondence with the Minister.
However, he said that the legal opinion was commissioned by the board and not by him personally.
He had no issue with the decision to decentralise and was prepared to support Government policy. However, he said, he could not agree with the site and building chosen for the move.
