Farmers call for independent review into Bord Bia
IFA members protest outside Bord Bia's offices earlier this month: Picture: Conor Ó Mearáin / RollingNews.ie
Protesters still inside Bord Bia’s head office for almost a month have said they are prepared to stand down should the organisation’s chairman stand aside while an independent review takes place.
It comes as a Red C poll published by the showed fewer than one in five respondents support Larry Murrin’s decision to remain as Bord Bia chairman.
More than 700 farmers attended a meeting in Claremorris last Thursday night, and more than 800 in Athy, Co Kildare, exceeding the venue's capacity on Tuesday, February 24, where it was decided to hold a further protest in Newbridge next Saturday.
The controversy began a month ago after it was revealed Mr Murrin's company, Dawn Farms, had been importing beef from Brazil into Ireland.
Irish Farmers' Association president Francie Gorman said the association was yet to receive "any substantive reply" to its proposal.
“I requested that the board should meet without the chair, which is consistent with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies. This has not happened to date," he said.
“The reality is that all the talk from the minister and all the advertisements from the Bord Bia management about wanting dialogue is only empty rhetoric. They have proposed nothing except to stand by their man.
“The minister and Larry Murrin have not moved one inch since it emerged that the chair is importing Brazilian beef and Brazilian poultry and that his company is not part of any Bord Bia quality assurance scheme,” he said.
“There was a meeting of the board last Wednesday, and we responded with this proposal to try and achieve a breakthrough. The Board of Bord Bia must be given an opportunity to consider it without the chair being present."
According to the Red C poll of more than 1,000 Irish adults, 53% said he should go, 16% said he should stay, and 31% of respondents were described as neutral/don't know. Once the undecideds and don't knows are set aside, it gives a 77%/23% split in those who have an opinion, with the majority in favour of Mr Murrin standing down.
Commenting on the findings, Mr Gorman said: “The minister should heed the finding in [the Red C] poll. It’s very clear that the view among the farming community on this issue is shared by the wider public. It is inexplicable that [agriculture] Minister Heydon would allow a situation to drag on when trust and confidence in Bord Bia is being eroded. The board of Bord Bia should meet without the chair to agree a pathway out of this.”
“The crowd was unanimous that a new chair is needed as part of the process of rebuilding trust among farmers. We cannot have a chair of Bord Bia whose company imports Brazilian beef and Brazilian chicken and is not part of the relevant Bord Bia quality assurance scheme,” he said.
He added a roster of farmers had been put in place to maintain the protest outside Bord Bia until Monday, March 9, and "can be rolled over for as long as is needed".
"The depth of feeling on this issue has gotten a lot stronger since it emerged that the chair’s company doesn’t even bother to be part of the relevant Bord Bia QA scheme,” he added.
Responding, a spokesperson for Bord Bia said: "The board of Bord Bia, Bord Bia’s senior leadership team, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are working collaboratively to review the IFA proposal.
"The disruption to Bord Bia’s work continues, with a significant number of client and customer meetings postponed or moved off-site. Over 140 staff are continuing to work from home or offsite locations for a fourth week and will remain doing so until the sit-in protest is stood down."
