The chairman of the Irish greyhound racing board has said that an independent inquiry into allegations of doping will have the full co-operation of its members.
At press conference in Shelbourne Park greyhound track in Dublin this morning, Paschal Taggart said he had written to the Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue to assure him of Bord na gCon's co-operation.
Mr Taggart held this morning's conference against the stated wishes of Mr O'Donoghue to give his position on the doping controversy.
Earlier in the week Mr O'Donoghue appointed a former Department of Justice secretary general to inquire into the doping controversy and the sacking of the board's chief executive, Aidan Tynan.
But the minister warned yesterday he did not want anyone involved in the controversy discussing the dispute with the media until the inquiry was completed.
He said: "I am aware that some of the matters under inquiry may be exciting people to brief the media," he said.
"I consider that distinctly unhelpful due to the fact that the inquiry is ongoing," he added.
But Mr Taggart yesterday vowed to go ahead with today's press conference. He said he would not discuss Mr Tynan's sacking, but would deal with the other issues. He said he would not allow the media to hound him out of his position.
The controversy erupted last week when Bord na gCon sacked Mr Tynan after it emerged he had written to Mr O'Donoghue expressing concerns at the board's decision not to publish details of a hearing involving two trainers who were fined after admitting to giving EPO, a performance-enhancing drug, to their dogs.