'I'm not a champion for Brazil', Bord Bia chairman tells committee

Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin walks past protesting farmers outside Leinster House ahead of his appearance before the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee today.

Allegations around a conflict of interest for the chairman of Bord Bia are "false" and "driven" by social media, Larry Murrin said amid calls for his resignation.

Mr Murrin has rejected repeated demands to step down from his role at the state agency, which is charged with promoting and enforcing standards on Irish food, including beef.

The dispute arose out of revelations that Mr Murrin's company Dawn Farm Foods had sourced "less than 1%" of its beef from Brazil last year for contingency planning in a contract.

On Thursday, he said his company was a major customer of Irish beef producers but said security of supply agreements with major international customers require provisions for food crises, disease outbreaks, and supply issues.

Mr Murrin told the Agriculture Committee that "somewhere in the southern hemisphere" would always be on the contingency list for his company's customers.

He said: "I'm not a champion for Brazil and I want to make that perfectly clear today, but Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world today and our global customers look at commodity markets globally, and I have to be able to demonstrate as part of our supply-chain security arrangements that this country can access those raw materials if it needs to."

He insisted his quality assurance team have "stringent requirements" and work with the "most reputable companies in Brazil when they need to".

Mr Murrin said it is "completely incorrect" to suggest that Dawn Farms promotes products containing non-Irish beef under the Bord Bia quality mark, adding: "Those claims are false and have caused damage."

Protesting farmers outside Leinster House. Picture: Leah Farrell RollingNews.ie

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) have called for his resignation over claims of a conflict of interest as they say Bord Bia places standards on Irish beef that they do not believe are met by Brazilian farms.

Protesting outside the Dáil, John Maloney, a farmer from Co Limerick, told the Irish Examiner that putting beef from Brazil through the Irish system “could damage the reputation of our beef as well.” 

“Farmers are incensed about this… farmers have to go through so much red tape and regulations, which is a burden on them, then they see the chair of Bord Bia bringing in substandard beef and bringing it here,” Mr Maloney told the Irish Examiner.

Speaking on the farmer sentiment, Mr Maloney said: “It's very unfair and we feel the chair has to step down.” 

“We're concerned about the way the government is standing behind Larry Murrin. We feel the government should listen to farmers. They feel [farmers] that the reputation of Bord Bia has been undermined, and we feel this chairman has to step down.” 

However, Bord Bia's chief executive, Jim O'Toole, said it was in the "best interests" of Irish farmers for Mr Murrin to remain as chairman, and Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon has also expressed confidence in Mr Murrin.

He said his position on the board had been presented to him as an "ultimatum" by the farming organisations, adding: "I don't do ultimatums - unless they come from my wife."

Mr Heydon has said that Mr Murrin had been willing to give a detailed and confidential briefing about the arrangement to the farmers' groups.

The issue is particularly sensitive as the European Commission seeks to progress the Mercosur trade deal with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - with Irish farmers concerned their beef exports to Europe would be at risk because of cheaper Brazilian beef entering the market.

At the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee on Thursday, Mr Murrin said he has never been conflicted in leading the board and ensuring its effectiveness. "I have spent my entire working life advocating on behalf of Irish food, drink and agriculture in global markets in the best interests of Ireland," he said.

"I have spent every week since assuming the chair of Bord Bia doing likewise - that will not change."

Outside of the less than 1% supply from Brazil, Mr Murrin said Dawn Farm Foods sources "well over 50%" of its beef from Ireland and the remainder from the UK and the EU.

He also told the committee that the company sources some poultry from Brazil but no pig meat.

He said 7-10% of the white poultry meat imports into Ireland.