The chairman of Bord na gCon Pascal Taggart today rejected criticism in a Government report into the sacking of the Bord's chief executive over greyhound doping procedures.
Aidan Tynan was removed in January after voting against a Bord decision not to publicise details of positive test results for the banned substance EPO in greyhounds. He later wrote a letter to Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism John O'Donoghue on the issue.
Leaked extracts of the report compiled by former Department of Justice official Tim Dalton were published in the Sunday Tribunetoday. Mr O'Donoghue asked Mr Dalton on February 1st to 'review the allegations of shortcomings in corporate governance at Bord na gCon'.
The report is believed to have found that Mr Tynan's sacking would not have stood up to a legal challenge and it recommends sweeping changes to the Bord.
But Mr Taggart claimed this morning that the dismissal of Mr Tynan was not related to the doping issue. "It amazes me that in retrospect everybody has such clarity of thought," he told Newstalk Radio. "I repeat myself. I was very happy with the decision. We handled it well. The nub of the issue was Mr Tynan's stance on EPO was never taken into account when he was sacked. It had nothing whatsoever to do with his sacking."
Mr Taggart added that he had no regrets over his decision which he said he would "stand over until the day I die."
Mr Dalton is understood to recommend that testing of dogs be controlled by an independent three-person committee, and that results and penalties must be published. It says that in future the chairman should be appointed for a maximum of ten years, and not with the present open-ended arrangement.
The dossier is also believed to identify low morale and a high number of staff severance deals at Bord na gCon. A number of other issues will now be investigated by the Comptroller & Auditor General, it is believed.
Mr Taggart said he and his Bord colleagues had not yet received a copy of the report. Mr Mr O'Donoghue, who received the report in his Department late last month, told the Dail last week that relevant extracts have been sent to individuals who are named in the text.
The Taoiseach estimated to the Dail that it will be published within three weeks.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte today demanded the it be released immediately.
"If the findings of the report are as set out in newspapers today, then the decision of the Minister to sit on the report for more than six weeks is all the more inexcusable. It is also difficult to understand why the Minister has failed to take action on the basis of such serious findings," he said.
"The report would appear to confirm what many people inside and outside the industry have long believed — that Bord na gCon has been run in a totally irregular manner, with little concern shown for the proper use of taxpayers' money."