Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue has accepted the resignation of Bord na gCon chairman Paschal Taggart in advance of the publication of an independent report on a controversy over greyhound doping and the sacking of the board's chief executive officer.
Mr Taggart announced he would step down on Friday, seven months ahead of his planned departure.
He will, however, be appearing before the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, which will be examining the independent report, and where he is expected to mount a robust defence of his role in the recent controversies.
The board has been embroiled in controversy since last November when its control committee fined trainers Paul Hennessy and John Kiely after their dogs, Barefoot Jenny and Westmead Rumble, tested positive for EPO, a banned drug.
The board decided against the usual practice of publishing details of the committee's deliberations, against the advice of then chief executive Aidan Tynan, who then wrote to the Minister for Sport outlining his concerns.
The following week the board sacked Mr Tynan, who subsequently received a substantial compensation payment for unfair dismissal.
Mr Taggart has claimed that the sacking was not related to Mr Tynan's decision to inform the Minister of the board's decision not to publish details of the doping hearing.
Mr O'Donoghue then commissioned a report by retired senior civil servant Tim Dalton, which has been widely leaked in recent months, and which is critical of Mr Taggart.
It also recommends that nobody should hold the position of chairman of the board for more than 10 years. Mr Taggart is now approaching 10 years in the position.
The report is to be brought to Cabinet today, and it is expected to be published this afternoon.
It is also being forwarded to the Public Accounts Committee, which will examine its findings and hold a public hearing into the controversy on Thursday.
In a statement yesterday Mr Taggart said his decision to step down was because it would be "more appropriate for his successor to be involved in the recruitment process of the incoming CEO, and for this reason he feels he should retire now as opposed to early 2007 as previously agreed with Minister O'Donoghue".
Accepting Mr Taggart's resignation, Mr O'Donoghue paid tribute to Mr Taggart's contribution to the greyhound industry. "The transformation of this industry over the past decade or so has been accomplished through a combination of significant Government investment in the sector and the commitment and enthusiasm of Bord na gCon under Mr Taggart's leadership," he said.
Since the controversy became public, Mr Taggart has robustly defended his position, and held one press conference against the wishes of the Minister for Sport, because of the ongoing inquiry.