Bord na gCon head and board clashed on spending

A row over spending developed between the greyhound racing board and its chief executive over the last three months, according to a report into the dispute at the organisation.

Bord na gCon last week sacked its chief executive Aidan Tynan. Mr Tynan had earlier revealed unpublished details of a drug-testing hearing to Sports Minister John O'Donoghue.

At the hearing, two trainers, Paul Hennessy and John Kiely, were fined €1,000 each after their dogs tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), a banned substance.

When the disciplinary hearing, which took place in November, was discussed, he recommend publishing the outcome after Bord na gCon chairman Paschal Taggart asked him for his opinion.

Bord na gCon and Mr Taggart have repeatedly insisted that Mr Tynan's sacking was not the result of him revealing details of the hearing to the Minister but followed ongoing differences between him and the board.

The report, ordered by Mr O'Donoghue and seen by The Irish Times, shows that last month Mr Tynan went to Bord na gCon's employee grievance procedure following disagreements with board members and Mr Taggart over spending, costs and general management issues.

At an October meeting Mr Taggart and board member Frank O'Connell raised concerns at falling cash flow and rising costs. Wage and advertising costs both rose by over €1 million over a two-year period, according to the report.

Figures showed that Bord na gCon's projected cash flow for 2005 from its businesses would come to €4.6 million, €400,000 short of its €5 million target.

Mr Taggart said the actual financial outcome for many stadiums differed significantly from budget projections. He pointed out that Galway had lost €22,000, though its target up to September 30th was to contribute €140,800 in cashflow.

Mr Taggart warned that the level of costs at the board's greyhound tracks was "unsustainable", and asked for a detailed plan that would ensure all of them would make profits.

In response, Mr Tynan explained that the board ran a significant number of extra meetings across the State to facilitate demand from owners, according to the report.

Mr O'Connell said he was concerned salaries and wages grew from €8.176 million in 2004 to a projected €9.827 million for this year.

Mr Tynan said the board itself had sanctioned the appointments of a full-time head of IT, a purchasing manager and other posts. Both financial controller Michael Foley and Mr Tynan said they had identified savings that could be made of up to one-third of the €7 million to €8 million fit-out costs associated with a €40 million refurbishment plan for greyhound tracks.

At the December board meeting, Mr Taggart criticised the fact that a tendering process for refurbishment work at Shelbourne Park had gone ahead without his knowledge. He warned it could leave the board with a €250,000 bill for work done by consultants, but the board had not approved this spending.

Mr Tynan said he was not aware that the tender needed the board's approval, and added that he and the board regarded the work on Shelbourne as a priority.

Mr McKenna, chairman of Waterford stadium, said he was angered that a general manager had been appointed to that track without his knowledge. Mr Tynan said this was an oversight.

Mr McKenna also queried the costs involved in drugs testing, saying they were "astronomical".

There was also criticism that there was no increase in prize money scheduled before 2009.

Mr Tynan, who was appointed in October 2004, told the meeting that had sought "clarification" on his role as chief executive officer at a previous meeting. He had sought to fulfil the board's wishes over the previous year and believed that he had made a lot of progress on various targets.

Mr Tynan's decision to go through the board's grievance procedures was raised at last week's board meeting. He left while the members discussed the various issues. When he returned, the board said it agreed unanimously to dismiss him.