Minister retains support for Bord Bia chairman in wake of fresh criticism over use of non-Irish meat

The chairman of Irish food promotion agency Bord Bia continues to have the Minister for Agriculture’s support despite one of his businesses being found using non-Irish meat for the second time this year.“My views on the chairman of Bord Bia have been well aired. They haven’t changed,” Minister Martin Heydon said. Heydon backed Larry Murrin early this year when controversy flared over the use of Brazilian beef in his Dawn Farm Foods company when one of Bord Bia’s jobs is to promote Irish beef.Murrin has faced criticism again in recent weeks after Sole restaurant in Dublin, which he part-owns, was found serving chicken from the Netherlands. READ MOREThe issue was highlighted by the late restaurant critic, Corinna Hardgrave, in her final restaurant review for The Irish Times last month.Members of the Irish Farmers’ Association staged a sit-in at Bord Bia’s offices in January and also protested outside Sole restaurant last weekend. The restaurant has said it occasionally used imported chicken as it had difficulty getting a secure supplier of Irish produce because demand outstrips supply. In the wake of the initial controversy, Heydon, who repeatedly backed Murrin, initiated a review of Bord Bia which was published during the summer. It recommended revising policies on conflict of interest, declarations by board members and crisis management. [ Budget 2027 Q&A: Your questions answeredOpens in new window ]Heydon said work on implementing the review was continuing. “We had an extensive process, the Government’s review process, that came up with a number of recommendations,” he said “I’m committed to the implementation of all of those recommendations. We continue to work with all stakeholders in that regard.” The Minister spoke on the issue while taking questions about budget measures announced by his department, which included €60.7 million for Bord Bia – a small increase on last year. He defended providing emergency funding of €100 million for fuel subsidies for farming in the wake of the fuel price protests last April, when fewer than one in four farmers claimed it and €62 million ended up unspent. He said the €100 million was an estimate of the need at a time when he was trying to respond to a crisis in real time. The underspend was being diverted to a fertiliser subsidy scheme instead, details of which he would be announcing shortly. Leaders of April’s protests, which blockaded Dublin city centre, regional towns and ports, have said there will be further demonstrations in the near future as the carbon tax and excise freezes on fuel did not go far enough. Heydon said people in a democracy had a right to protest.However, he said: “I do believe that farmers do recognise that Government has supported them this year and will continue to support them into this winter.”