The Dáil has voted support for the chairman of Bord Bia Larry Murrin.

Sinn Féin last week had proposed a motion calling on Mr Murrin to be removed from his position after it came to light that 1% of the beef his company Dawn Farm Foods used came from Brazil.

The Government opposed the motion and used its majority to amend it to express support for Mr Murrin last night in the Dáil.

The amended motion was then put to a vote in the house and 88 voted in favour, 61 against.

The vote of support by TDs for Mr Murrin, comes as IFA members who want Mr Murrin to resign continue to protest at the HQ of Bord Bia on Pembroke Road in Dublin.

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Last week the Tánaiste Simon Harris said that the Government will not remove Mr Murrin as the Chair of Bord Bia.

Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Harris accused Sinn Féin of looking for a head but he vowed that they would not get one.

“This is not about food on the table, it is about a head on a plate,” the Tánaiste said.

Farming groups – including the IFA, ICSA, and the group representing dairy farmers, the ICMSA – claim the situation creates a conflict of interest for Mr Murrin, given Bord Bia’s role in promoting Irish food, and that his position with the semi-State agency is untenable.

Dawn Farms said Brazilian beef made up less than 1% of its overall supply last year.