Two county councils have passed motions backed by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) calling for Larry Murrin to resign or be removed as chairperson of Bord Bia.

Motions were brought before Carlow and Wexford county councillors yesterday (Monday, February 9).

In the case of Carlow County Council, it is understood that the motion was passed by a show of hands, with no objections to the motion made.

In Wexford County Council, it is understood that 30 councillors voted, with 21 voting in favour, five voting against, and four abstaining.

It is also understood that a counter motion was put forward at the Wexford council meeting calling for dialogue between the IFA, Bord Bia and Murrin, but this motion only received a handful of votes.

In both county council meetings, local members of the IFA were in the room observing proceedings.

IFA president Francie Gorman said the results of the votes on these motions "showed the depth of feeling on this issue".

"I want to thank the councillors for giving some of their time to discuss this issue...and for their backing of our position," Gorman said.

He added: "There is no question that people can see there is a problem with the current situation in Bord Bia. We can only rebuild farmers confidence if there is a new chair at the helm.

"We will maintain this campaign until we get a result that allows Bord Bia resume its normal business," the IFA president said.

Carlow IFA chair Michael Purcell said there had been "a good discussion" in the council chamber, while Wexford IFA chair Tom Doyle said that the "majority view" of councillors in the county was that a "change was needed to move on from the existing situation".

Oireachtas committee

Meanwhile, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food will meet today (Tuesday, February 10) to discuss a request for a meeting from the IFA.

Gorman has claimed that Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin "raised serious questions" while speaking to the committee last week.

Gorman claimed this included issues around the governance code for state bodies and his business' sourcing policy, and other issues.

Gorman said the IFA has "requested a slot for a right of reply" before "a key vote in the Dáil on Wednesday night [tomorrow, Wednesday, February 11]".

The IFA president was referring to a Sinn Féin motion calling on the government to remove Murrin from his role as Bord Bia chairperson.

Update

In a subsequent update after this article was initially published, the IFA said that Wicklow County Council had also passed a motion calling for the removal of Murrin.

According to the IFA, Wicklow councillors voted for the motion by 20 votes to six, with five abstentions.