The Tánaiste has stated that the Government will not remove Larry Murrin as the Chair of Bord Bia.
Speaking in the Dáil, Simon 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 told the Dáil.
It emerged last week that Mr Murrin’s company Dawn Farms has been using some Brazilian beef in its meat products.
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.
Mr Harris said Mr Murrin has answered the questions put to him by the members of the Bord Bia board and he got a majority backing there.
He added that Mr Murrin would answer questions about the issue at the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee.
Mr Murrin had overseen massive growth in overseas food exports and that matters, Mr Harris said.
Around 15 tractors stopped outside Leinster House this afternoon, protesting against Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon’s decision not to remove Larry Murrin as Chair of Bord Bia.
The convoy slowly made its way through Dublin city centre from the Bord Bia offices on the Pembroke Road before passing the Department of Agriculture and parking near the gates of Leinster House.
The convoy of tractors parked outside Leinster House after making its way from the Bord Bia offices
Bord Bia CEO and Chair to appear before Oireachtas Committee
Bord Bia Chief Executive Jim O’Toole is expected to appear before the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee together with Mr Murrin, with the session likely to be held next week.
It comes as members of the IFA are into their fourth consecutive day of protesting outside the offices of Bord Bia in Dublin against the decision not to remove Mr Murrin from his role.
In the Dáil, Sinn Féin again called for the sacking of Mr Murrin saying there is a clear conflict of interest.
Matt Carthy said Bord Bia plays a pivotal role in promoting Irish food but this is based on trust, and Bord Bia has lost the trust of its primary producers – the farmers.
Mr Carthy said the Government is failing to grasp that it has the power to remove Mr Murrin.
Next week Sinn Féin will bring a motion to Government seeking the immediate removal of Mr Murrin from his role.
Yesterday, party leader Mary Lou McDonald reiterated her party’s stance that confidence in Bord Bia has been undermined by the controversy.
However, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and the Government have given Mr Murrin their full backing and maintain he has done nothing wrong.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Irish Farmers Journal published today, Mr Murrin said he intends to continue in his role as Chair of Bord Bia.
In that interview, Mr Murrin also described the campaign for him to step down as “emotional nonsense”.
In response IFA Deputy President Alice Doyle said those comments dismissed farmers’ and their families’ concerns.
Ms Doyle said, “farmers who saw it were raging to see their concerns dismissed in this way”, adding the comments “show the total contempt Mr Murrin has for farmers and their families”.
The IFA has said its members will remain outside Bord Bia’s offices until Mr Murrin is removed as Chair.