Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 9: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism when the Dalton report, which he commissioned some time ago, into happenings in Bord na gCon, will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21128/06]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 10: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if, in view of the extensive leaking to the media of sections of the Dalton report, he will publish the final report without delay; if he plans to make further changes to the board of Bord na gCon; when the term of office of the current chairperson expires; if he anticipates changes to the legislative framework under which Bord na gCon operates following the Dalton report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21126/06]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together.

As the Deputies are aware, on 1 February 2006 I appointed Mr. Tim Dalton, former Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, to carry out an investigation into issues relating to corporate management in Bord na gCon as well as the management of positive tests for banned substances. I received Mr. Dalton's draft report last month and my Department immediately sought guidance from the Office of the Attorney General on how to proceed with the issues raised in his report.

In accordance with the advice of the Attorney General, copies and, in some cases, extracts of the Dalton report have been sent to persons referred to in the report on a confidential basis to afford them an opportunity to submit observations on the report to me by the close of business today. Any comments received will then be made available to Mr. Dalton for the purposes of finalising his report, following which I will present proposals to my Cabinet colleagues for dealing with the recommendations made in the Dalton report. I will also seek approval for immediate publication of the report.

I regret that my requests to the various parties to refrain from comment on the subject matter of the report until due process has been completed have not been respected. I do not intend to comment at this stage on any aspect of Mr. Dalton's report until the report itself is formally in the public domain as it would be entirely inappropriate for me to do so. I will deal fully with these issues as soon as I am in a position to do so.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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In a reply to a similar question on the previous occasion he was before the House, the Minister indicated that all parties involved in the investigation would be granted due process. In light of the selected leaking of documents associated with this case, have people received due process? In January, for example, a letter sent to the Minister by the chief executive of Bord na gCon was leaked to RTE and a number of television and radio programmes dealt with the document. Two weeks ago, before the persons named in the Dalton report even received a copy of it, The Sunday Tribune and Sunday Independent published lead articles featuring leaked details of the recommendations and findings of the report. Does this constitute due process? Does the Minister agree that the leaks have been highly selective in that they have been targeted at the chairman of Bord na gCon? I will withhold my judgment on the chairman until I receive a copy of the report which will also be discussed in the House. Surely it is not due process when one person, a busy businessman who gave ten years of his life to Bord na gCon and from which he took no fees, should be singled out and targeted in this manner. This is clearly unfair.

This is not the first leak from a Government which appears to run its affairs through a series of leaks. Last week, when the Fine Gael Party submitted a Private Members' Bill to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, it was immediately leaked to the media by the Minister or one of his officials. Surely this is not the correct approach. I ask the Minister to respond to my questions on due process and the treatment of the chairman of Bord na gCon.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I deeply regret the fact that extracts from the Dalton report were published in some newspapers. I assure the House that neither I nor any officials in my Department were involved in any of the leaks concerned, which I deplore. While it is not for me to make a judgment as to the nature of the leaks, inasmuch as I requested people to desist from commenting on the contents of the report, I also deplore the fact that parts of it were leaked.

Having said that, I acknowledge the work of officials in my Department with whom I have had the privilege of working for four years. They are people of the highest integrity. There is no need for me to act as an apologist for them as their work speaks for itself. I was involved with them in the renewal of the horse and greyhound racing fund when we increased it to a total of €550 million until the end of 2008. Given that the greyhound industry is entitled to one fifth of this amount, it will be clear that my commitment and that of officials in my Department to the greyhound industry has been proven in tangible form.

I repeat that I regret that leaks took place and people sought to comment prior to due process being completed. If the advice I issued at the outset of this process had been adhered to, we would all be in a much better position today.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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The Minister received a copy of the report on 5 April. Does he agree that the subsequent delay in publishing it has allowed a farce to be created and diminished the standing of everyone concerned, including the Minister who has failed to take action on this matter, which must be brought to a conclusion? Will no action be taken on foot of the Dalton report before the summer recess? I understand morale among Bord na gCon is low because nothing has been done. Members of the public wonder if something is being hidden because the report has not been published.

This issue has also been surrounded by a series of leaks and interviews. I am informed that nearly every member of the press has a copy of the report, although Deputy Deenihan and I have not yet received a copy. The episode has degenerated into a farce. The Minister must make decisions and inform the House when action will be taken on foot of the report to allow us to move on. A growing number of people benefit from the greyhound industry which attracts large numbers of people to tracks and has created many new greyhound owners. It is wrong that no markers have been put down following the report. Will the Minister give the House a date on which action will be taken? The importance of the greyhound industry cannot be overstated.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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There is no farce from my point of view. The situation is quite straightforward — I requested people to observe due process. As I have said before, neither I nor my officials leaked the report and we were not responsible for it. I have also said on several occasions that, irrespective of what anybody said, we would observe due process. There was no point in setting out on that road a couple of months ago and coming along now saying we would terminate that process and make decisions on the hoof. I will not do it. In recent weeks, people have been given the opportunity to express their views on the report. It is only right and proper that this should occur. They have until the end of business today to make their observations.

In the intervening period, I have also taken the opportunity to appoint two new members to Bord na gCon. I wrote to thank Mr. John Hegarty and Mr. Cathal Curley for their services to the board over three and nine years respectively. I decided that it was opportune at this point to appoint two new members to the board: Mr. Séamus Mallon, the former MP, representing Northern interests; and Mr. Dick O'Sullivan, who has made an enormous contribution as the manager of Punchestown, in Mr. Hegarty's place. These are two good appointments. I again thank the outgoing members, while wishing the new members well.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Whereas I welcome the appointment of the new members — I know both people — I remind the Minister that there is no female member of Bord na gCon. This flies in the face of Government policy concerning gender balance on such boards. It is inexplicable why the Minister has not made such an appointment.

Does the Minister agree that the chairman of Bord na gCon had no option but to publicly defend his name, reputation and integrity because of leaks to the media in order to personalise this affair and in some way damage him as well? All of this refers back to the use of prohibited substances, EPO in this case. Before I left office in 1997, I had prepared a Bill to take control out of the hands of the board so that in this instance, the chairman of the board would not preside over this type of case. It was not carried forward by the Government at that time. Despite what the Tánaiste, Deputy Harney, said about the Supreme Court case, on numerous occasions in the House since then I have raised the issue of control and the fact that it should be taken from the board. Would the Minister accept my proposed private Members' Bill at this time as an immediate solution to this problem when we discuss the report here?

Will the Minister make the observations available to us when we discuss the matter in the House? In that way, not alone will we discuss the Dalton report but also the observations of the various persons affected by that report. That would only be fair to Deputy Wall and me so we can be well informed when we have the debate in this House.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I anticipate that the Dalton report will deal with the question of where drug control at Bord na gCon should lie in future. Clearly, that forms part of the report and I anticipate that we will have a discussion on it. With regard to the question of statements made by various parties, I do not think I would have any difficulty — subject to the Attorney General's approval, which would have to come — with these statements being annexed to Mr. Dalton's report, which must be polished or finalised in the context of the documents coming forward.

As regards whether the outgoing chairman had any choice, let me preface my remarks by saying that I have acknowledged——

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Outgoing.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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——in the past that Mr. Taggart made an enormous contribution to the Irish greyhound industry.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Did the Minister say he was outgoing?

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Mr. Taggart made an enormous contribution to the Irish greyhound industry. In that respect, Deputy Deenihan seeks to suggest that Mr. Taggart had no choice. I would remind Deputy Deenihan that when I called for due process in the first instance, there was no report in existence and segments of a report were not leaked. Nonetheless, the chairman decided that he had to make a public comment, even though I did say it was necessary for all parties to observe due process. It is important to make that point.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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It was on the Sunday papers.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am anxious to give Deputy Wall an opportunity to contribute.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Now that the Minister has read the Dalton report and its proposals, does he anticipate changes to the legislative framework under which Bord na gCon operates?

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I anticipate that legislation will be required on foot of the Dalton report.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister clarify his use of the word "outgoing"? Mr. Taggart is still the chairman, is he not?

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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He is the chairman until he becomes the outgoing chairman. Is that not the case?

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Of course.