{"id":298919,"date":"2026-01-23T05:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T05:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/298919\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T05:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T05:23:09","slug":"minister-and-bord-bia-stand-by-chairman-amid-controversy-over-his-company-importing-brazilian-beef-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/298919\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister and Bord Bia stand by chairman amid controversy over his company importing Brazilian beef \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bord Bia<\/a> is standing by its chairman Larry Murrin in the face of calls for his resignation amid controversy over his company\u2019s importation of Brazilian beef.<\/p>\n

However, while a meeting of the State agency\u2019s board backed Mr Murrin to stay in the role, the two farming organisations represented on the board dissented and called for him to go. <\/p>\n

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has also backed Mr Murrin. Speaking following the board meeeting today, he said \u201che has my full confidence\u201d. <\/p>\n

Mr Heydon said it would be \u201cirresponsible to just follow emotion in relation to the media reports\u201d about Mr Murrin, \u201cwhen it is accepted by all that no rules were broken by him or his company.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said that while he understands \u201cthe emotion for farmers when it comes to issues associated with the integrated nature of food supply around the globe . . . We also must recognise that as a food producing island we export 90 per cent of that food and drink product and we depend on that very integrated trade. The work of Bord Bia is critical to that success.\u201d <\/p>\n

Importation of Brazilian beef is contentious against the backdrop farmers\u2019 opposition to the Mercosur<\/a> trade deal between the European Union and some South American countries, including Brazil.<\/p>\n

Mr Murrin is chief executive of Dawn Farms. <\/p>\n

Questions have been raised about his role at Bord Bia \u2013 the agency tasked with promoting Irish food \u2013 given his company\u2019s importation of some Brazilian beef.<\/p>\n

Dawn Farms has said Irish beef makes up the majority of its supply and, together with the UK<\/a> and EU<\/a> countries, accounted for more than 99 per cent of its annual supply in 2025. Brazilian beef accounted for less than 1 per cent of overall supply.<\/p>\n

It has said: \u201cWe work with global brands who require deep levels of contingency to ensure absolute security of supply.\u201d<\/p>\n

The controversy was discussed at a meeting of Bord Bia\u2019s board on Thursday.<\/p>\n

In a statement afterwards, Bord Bia\u2019s chief executive Jim O\u2019Toole said \u201call perspectives\u201d were heard and \u201ccarefully weighed\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said the board \u201creached an outcome\u201d to support Mr Murrin as chairman but added this was \u201cnot unanimous\u201d, acknowledging the Irish Farmers\u2019 Association<\/a> (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association<\/a> (ICMSA) did not support him. <\/p>\n

He said the board \u201cunanimously\u201d recognised Mr Murrin\u2019s \u201csignificant contribution to the sector\u201d and his \u201cinvaluable industry experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

According to Mr O\u2019Toole, discussions \u201cfocused on the need to protect and maintain the confidence of Irish farmers\u201d, while \u201calso recognising the critical importance of meeting the needs of customers in highly competitive global markets\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said it was concluded that supporting Mr Murrin was \u201cin the best interests\u201d of Bord Bia and the sector \u201cincluding Irish farmers\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bord Bia is providing Mr Heydon with a report on the meeting.<\/p>\n

IFA president Francie Gorman said he sought Mr Murrin\u2019s resignation during the meeting. In a statement, he said: \u201cWhen the chair refused to resign, I made a formal proposal to the board that the chair be removed in the best interests of Bord Bia.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mr Gorman said his proposal was not put to the meeting as there was a view it is a matter for the Minister for Agriculture.<\/p>\n

He said he \u201cmade it clear that farmer support is critical to the functioning of Bord Bia\u201d and \u201cwhat has happened here has had a devastating impact on farmer confidence\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Bord Bia is to have any chance of restoring this, then the chair must be removed,\u201d he said, adding he would contact the Minister directly to convey his views.<\/p>\n

\"IFAIFA president Francie Gorman. Photograph: Finbarr O’Rourke <\/p>\n

ICMSA president Denis Drennan said his organisation had been \u201cleft with no alternative\u201d but to request Mr Murrin\u2019s departure, adding that it is up to Minister Heydon to restore farmer confidence in Bord Bia.<\/p>\n

Prior to the meeting, during Thursday\u2019s Leaders\u2019 Questions in the D\u00e1il, Sinn F\u00e9in TD Pearse Doherty said Bord Bia exists \u201cto champion\u201d producers, farmers and the reputation of Irish food.<\/p>\n

He asked how Bord Bia\u2019s credibility could survive \u201cwhen its chair is simultaneously presiding over a company importing beef from Brazil?\u201d.<\/p>\n

He argued there is \u201ca fundamental conflict of interest\u201d and asked Tan\u00e1iste Simon Harris if the Government would \u201cremove the chair from his position\u201d. <\/p>\n

Mr Harris said Bord Bia is \u201cfulfilling its mandate with distinction\u201d, with Irish agri-food exports exceeding more than \u20ac21 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n

He noted Thursday\u2019s Bord Bia board meeting was happening and said this was the appropriate and fair way of \u201cconsidering and examining any issue when it arises\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said Mr Heydon has asked for a report on the meeting and \u201cdue process\u201d would be followed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place isn\u2019t a kangaroo court where we just come in and say, \u2018off with your head\u2019..\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bord Bia is standing by its chairman Larry Murrin in the face of calls for his resignation amid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[119065,9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,31232,11,12,15,16,31095,5,44,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-298919","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-bord-bia-irish-food-board","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-breakingnews","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-irish-farmers-association","18":"tag-latest-news","19":"tag-latestnews","20":"tag-main-news","21":"tag-mainnews","22":"tag-mercosur","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-simon-harris","25":"tag-top-stories","26":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115942746081022410","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}