This appears to be in conflict with the account given by Bord na gCon chairman Paschal Taggart, who argued at the time that the controversial dismissal of Tynan and the issue of dog doping were unrelated.

The letter Tynan sent to the minister warned that the integrity of the doping control system had been undermined because Taggart had ensured the findings of drug testing were not published which was contrary to the body's policy.

The Sunday Tribune has also learned that the unpublished report . . . written by retired civil servant Tim Dalton . . . concludes that the decision to dismiss Tynan would not have stood up to a legal challenge and did not meet the basic requirements of natural justice.

However, sources close to Taggart this weekend insisted there was no conflict between the report's finding and what the chairman had been saying all along.

They said that Taggart never disputed that Tynan's actions in sending the drug hearing information to the minister was a factor in his dismissal, adding that the board could not tolerate its chief executive "going over their heads in this manner".

The sources also stressed that there had been a breakdown in the relationship long before this incident.

In his report, Dalton, a former secretary general of the Department of Justice, says that even before the controversial letter was sent, relations had worsened between Tynan and members of the Bord na gCon board.

Labour party leader Pat Rabbitte said yesterday that if "the findings are as you say, it can't avoid having implications for the chairman's tenure of office".

The long-awaited report recommends that responsibility for drug testing in the greyhound industry is removed from Bord na gCon and that a new independent three-member body is establishment.

Dalton also urges changes to the composition of the board of the state-controlled greyhound agency. He advocates the inclusion of individuals with wider experience of running large organisations and more women members. And he says that the chairman's term of office is limited to a five-year duration with an option of renewal for the same period.

The report reveals that Bord na gCon has spent 1.5m in 15 different severance cases in recent years.

On the advice of the attorney general, the government has written to all the individuals mentioned in the report to allow them to comment on its conclusions.

Minister O'Donoghue recently told the Dail that "everybody involved in this matter will receive due process". He said that, following cabinet approval, the report would be "published at the earliest date available".

However, Pat Rabbitte yesterday noted that the minister now had the report's findings for around five weeks and called on him to lay the report before the Oireachtas.

He said he would welcome a decision to give responsibility for drug testing in the greyhound industry to an independent body, taking it out of the hands of Bord na gCon.