Reports into the sacking of Bord na gCon chief executive Aidan Tynan and the decision by its board not to make public two failed drug tests are likely to be sent to Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue early next week.
Last November, the control committee of Bord na gCon, the State body responsible for greyhound racing, fined trainers Paul Hennessy and John Kiely after their dogs, Barefoot Jenny and Westmead Rumble, tested positive for EPO, a banned drug that is supposed boost athletic performance.
Mr Hennessy, trainer of Barefoot Jenny, was fined €1,000 and had more than €4,000 in prizemoney confiscated. Mr Kiely was fined €1,000 and lost €400 in prizemoney. The Irish Times could not contact either trainer yesterday for comment.
Bord na gCon decided not to follow its usual policy of publishing details of such hearings in trade papers, The Irish Greyhound Weekly and the Sporting Press. Bord na gCon chairman Paschal Taggart told The Irish Times yesterday that the committee decided it was not in the interest of the industry to publish these particular hearings.
Mr Tynan opposed this and last week wrote to Mr O'Donoghue informing him of the incident. Bord na gCon dismissed Mr Tynan on Thursday. Mr O'Donoghue has since sought reports on both incidents from Bord na gCon. The Irish Times understands that these will be sent to the Minister some time early next week.
Mr Taggart said yesterday 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 hearing into the doping of two greyhounds.
He said that the board and Mr Tynan had had a number of differences over the management of Bord na gCon and its development strategy since the chief executive was appointed in October 2004.
However, Mr Taggart said that he did not want to go into detail in case Mr Tynan took legal action against the board.
Mr Taggart also acknowledged that the board may not have made the right decision on the outcome of the control committee hearings.
"We made the decision that we thought was the right decision," he said. "It was not straightforward, it was 60-40, but we decided that it was not in the interests of the greyhound industry to publish it, because it was the first time that we had tested for EPO.
"We decided instead to take out two half-page advertisements in the Sporting Press and the Irish Greyhound Weekly saying that we had started testing for this substance and warning that there will be very serious sanctions, including the loss of licences, if anybody is found using it."
He added that the board warned Mr Hennessy and Mr Kiely that they ran the risk of losing their licences if any of their dogs again tested positive.
The Republic is the first greyhound racing jurisdiction to introduce testing for EPO.
According to the latest figures from the greyhound board, last year its officials tested 6,113 dogs for banned substances and got positive results in 69 cases. In 2004, they got 95 positive tests from 5,160 dogs. Drugs and stimulants found in greyhounds included caffeine and amphetamines.
Dog story: main players
Paschal Taggart, the businessman and developer who is chairman of Bord na gCon, the Irish Greyhound Board.
Aidan Tynan, relatively recently appointed chief executive sacked by the board this week after telling Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue that it did not publish details of positive doping tests on two dogs.
Barefoot Jenny, one of the dogs that tested positive for banned substance, EPO, last June. She won a race at Clonmel on Monday night.
Westmead Rumble, the second dog which tested positive for EPO. This one has not run since July last year.
Paul Hennessy, high-profile trainer of Barefoot Jenny who admitted that the dog had the drug administered to her.
John Kiely, Westmead Rumble's trainer, who also admitted that EPO had been administered to the dog.
Bord na gCon board members: Cathal Curley, Pádraig Feeney, John Hegarty, Tony McKenna, Frank O'Connell and Danny Reilly.
EPO: what it is and how it works
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a naturally occurring hormone. Produced by the kidneys, it stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells, enhancing the level of oxygen carried in the blood and improving the performance of muscles and organs.
It is used to treat anaemia. However, over the last decade it has been used by athletes in many sports to improve stamina, strength and speed. It is injected by users. It has been banned by sporting agencies and is a controlled substance in most countries.
It has been used to dope racehorses in the past and there has also been a perception of use in Irish and British greyhound circles.
Animals who are administered the drug can have severe withdrawal symptoms when taken off it.
