Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has accused the leadership of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) of deliberately misleading its members in relation to the group’s dispute with Bord Bia.
In a statement, Minister Heydon said it is “disappointing that farmers are being denied the detail at the heart of this issue by the leadership of the IFA”.
He said the IFA is “whipping up” business deals, which are very explainable and ultimately in Irish farmers’ best interests”.
The row started after it emerged Bord Bia Chair Larry Murrin’s company Dawn Farms had been importing some Brazilian beef for use in its products.
Farming organisations called on him to step down over the issue – claiming it created a conflict of interest for him – given the state agency’s role in promoting Irish food.
The situation has seen IFA farmers protest outside Bord Bia’s offices for over a month, while five IFA members are staging a sit-in protest inside the reception area of the building.
On Saturday, around 1,500 people attended an IFA protest outside the Minister’s constituency office in Newbridge during which damage was done to signage at the office.
Afterwards, Minister Heydon described the IFA’s stance on the Bord Bia dispute as “reckless” and said it “led to a situation where damage is being inflicted on my constituency office.”
The situation has seen IFA farmers protest outside Bord Bia’s offices for over a month
This is not something you normally associate with IFA protests,” the minister added.
Minister Heydon has filed a complaint with gardaà in relation to the incident.
In response, the IFA said it is “aware that two signs outside the Minister’s office were damaged” during the protest and that the organisation contacted his office “to make them aware of this and to say we would replace them”.
Bord Bia review to be discussed at board meeting
A board meeting of Bord Bia is taking place today, at which a Government proposal for an independent expert-led governance review into Bord Bia is set to be discussed.
This follows an IFA proposal to examine the state agency’s board-membership eligibility as well as its various quality-assurance schemes.
The IFA wants Larry Murrin to step aside for the duration of the review period.
The agriculture minister said he has asked for the IFA to “give proper consideration to the very fair proposal that I’ve put forward in response to the farm organisations’ submissions.
A board meeting of Bord Bia is taking place today
“An independent governance review is what the IFA and other farm organisations have asked for.”
“The board could agree to not meet for the entirety of the review period, giving time and space for the questions raised about conflicts of interest, etc. to be independently examined and adjudicated on,” Minister Heydon added.
The Government has repeatedly given the Bord Bia chair its full backing saying Mr Murrin has done nothing wrong, despite calls from opposition parties for him to be removed.
Earlier this month Mr Murrin defended his company’s use of Brazilian beef in front of the Agriculture Committee.
Mr Murrin said a requirement of Dawn Farms’ contracts to supply cooked meats to international brands involves demonstrating an ability to source “beef or any other raw material from different sources” that can be used in the event of a supply disruption anywhere in Europe.