A NUMBER OF farmers have entered Bord Bia’s HQ in Dublin and are refusing to leave after calling for the agency’s chair Larry Murrin to step down.

It follows revelations from an article in Agriland.ie which stated that Murrin’s firm, Dawn Farms, sourced some of its beef from Brazil last year.

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon last month came out in support of Murrin, saying he has “full confidence” in his ability to continue as chair. 

However, political pressure has been mounting, with Sinn Féin’s agriculture spokesperson Martin Kenny saying Bord Bia can’t continue to promote Irish beef while its chair has imported Brazilian beef.

“It’s clear for everyone to see that Larry Murrin must go – we cannot have double standard,” he said.

For nine days now farmers have been protesting at the Bord Bia office in Dublin 4, and today they began occupying the building.

Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) President Francie Gorman said the move reflects the deep frustration and anger over the Bord Bia’s “inaction”.

“It’s over two weeks since I first raised this matter, and over a week since we began our protest outside the Bord Bia office in Dublin. Yet the Chair of Bord Bia and the government have failed to recognise how this issue is undermining farmer confidence in Bord Bia,” he said.

“Our position has been quite clear on this: the position of the Chair is untenable given that he imports Brazilian beef.”

Dawn Farms told Agriland that “Irish beef made up the majority of our supply” last year and that Irish beef, “together with the UK and other EU countries, accounted for 99% of our annual supply”.

The company added that “Brazilian beef accounted for the remaining 1%”.

Murrin also reportedly imported an unconfirmed amount of poultry.

Gorman added that farmers are losing confidence in Bord Bia as a result of the controversy.

Several dozen farmers are currently in the lobby of the HQ, holding signs saying “Minister, get it sorted” and “Double Standards”.

“The resolve of our members is very strong. Rarely have I seen such a depth of feeling on an issue,” Gorman said.

“Expecting farmers to reach higher and higher standards, while the Chair ignores them with Brazilian beef, will only engender mistrust.”