MINISTER HILDEGARDE NAUGHTON said she is “disappointed” in protests led by farmers and the Irish Farmers’ Association against the leadership of Bord Bia chief Larry Murrin.

Farmers across Ireland have been calling for Murrin’s resignation since it was revealed last month his company Dawn Farm Foods had imported a small amount of Brazilian beef for sale in Ireland – 1% of the company’s total supply.

Sinn Féin and the IFA led initial calls for Murrin to resign from his position, arguing that it was untenable for him to continue to hold the post given the high standards Bord Bia requires of Irish beef. The revelation also followed shortly after the controversial EU-Mercosur deal was passed, another key issue for Irish farmers.

The board of Bord Bia and Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon backed Murrin unreservedly. On Thursday, Murrin appeared before the Dáil’s Agriculture Committee on the issue and told TDs he had no conflict of interest and would continue to hold his position.

A number of farmers began protests at Bord Bia’s headquarters in Dublin 4 and occupied the lobby over the issue during the week.

Speaking on today’s The Week in Politics programme on RTÉ, Fine Gael’s Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton defended Murrin over the matter, stressing that the Bord Bia chief’s importation of Brazilian beef was entirely legitimate and transparent.

Asked whether Government felt “let down” by the IFA, Naughton said, “I think it’s very disappointing, and I’ll speak personally here: we have supported farmers, we’ll continue to support farmers, and we supported them in relation to Mercosur and the nitrates directive.

“This agri foods sector is worth €20 billion to Ireland. That is the work of An Bord Bia.

“And Opposition calling for the chairman to resign – and this, I have to say, is straight out of the Sinn Féin playbook – ask them to resign, just like you did with the Garda Commissioner after the riots in Dublin, just like they did for a senior finance official within the Department of Finance when they didn’t like the advice that that official gave.

“Ask them to be sacked and then get the facts later,” Naughton said. “The facts need to be clearly laid out by the IFA to their members.”

She said the Agriculture Minister is “very very ready to sit down with the IFA to explain this”, but said she felt Murrin had done a good job explaining the way his company’s contracts work during Thursday’s committee meeting.

Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin, who was also on the programme, said he and his party “make no apology for holding anybody in public life accountable when we believe they’re not acting in the interest of, in this instance, Irish farmers.

“Our position is very clear. We’ve set it out. We’ll continue to make it.

“The protest of the farmers at Bord Bia continues and it’s in the Government’s hands.”

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett similarly said he felt farmers’ protests were justified and said Government had only voted against Mercosur at the last minute due to “massive pressure” and the agitation of farmers, the farming community, and environmentalists.