Bord na gCon's part-time regulation manager, Mr John Garrahy, has secured a High Court interlocutory injunction restraining any other person from carrying out his duties pending the full hearing of his action against the board.
Granting the order yesterday, Mr Justice O'Higgins said it was clear from statements from Mr Garrahy and Bord na gCon that this was a "most bitter" dispute.
The court ordered that Bord na gCon give Mr Garrahy one week's notice of any intention it might have to serve notice of termination of employment. The judge said that the main action should be heard as soon as possible.
Mr Garrahy, a veterinary surgeon, of Ruanard, Clonlara, Co Clare, had alleged that he was bullied by the board's chief executive, Mr Michael Field, and claimed there was an orchestrated attempt by Mr Field and the board's chairman, Mr Paschal Taggart, to remove him from office. This is denied.
Mr Justice O'Higgins found that Mr Garrahy had established a fair case to be tried and that damages would not be an adequate remedy. The balance of convenience, in relation to whether the injunction should be granted or not, lay in Mr Garrahy's favour.
He said the loss to Bord na gCon through granting the injunction would be "inconvenience" caused by further delay in appointing a full-time regulator. He was taking into account that, according to the board, it had made its decision in 1999 to appoint a full-time regulator, left that in abeyance and resurrected it in 2001.
The board got permission from another High Court judge to advertise the job of full-time regulator and it had got what it considered to be the right person.
The judge said that if Mr Garrahy was correct in his contention that the decision to appoint a full-time regulator was a ruse to oust him, and if the injunction was not granted and if Mr Garrany won his case, then irreparable damage would already have been done.