The Oireachtas Committee for Agriculture and Food is to invite Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin to appear before it.

Earlier this month, Dawn Farm Foods of which Murrin is CEO, confirmed to Agriland that Brazilian beef accounted for 1% of its beef supply in 2025.

The issue has led to anger from farm organisations and some politicians, who claim that Murrin's business sourcing beef from Brazil clashes with his role of chair of the body tasked with promoting Irish food.

Senior government sources have said the beef sourced from Brazil by Dawn Farm Foods in 2025 "went to England, not Ireland".

Bord Bia

The Oireachtas Committee for Agriculture and Food held a private meeting yesterday (Tuesday, January 27).

During that meeting there was a request from Fianna Fáil spokesperson on agriculture and TD for Carlow-Kilkenny Peter 'Chap' Cleere for Larry Murrin to be invited to address the committee.

He is among several Fianna Fáil TDs who have called on Larry Murrin to consider his position as chair of Bord Bia.

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare and suckler farmer Cathal Crowe said he will be raising his concerns about the issue in government circles.

"I think it's important that if you're leading out an organisation that promotes Irish beef and the best of quality internationally, I think it's incompatible that you would at the same time be importing yourself inferior Brazilian beef," he said in a post on social media.

Ryan O'Meara, Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary North, said it was clear to him that "the confidence of Irish farmers has been lost in the chair of Bord Bia.

He added that farmer sentiment "will not be restored under the current leadership" of the board and that the chair of Bord Bia "must go".

"The conflict of interest that has arisen in relation to the importation of Brazilian beef has destroyed farmer confidence in the leadership of Bord Bia and that can only be restored by a new chairperson over the board," he said.

Chair of the committee and Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North West Aindrias Moynihan confirmed to Agriland that it will be requesting Larry Murrin to appear before the committee.

"The committee is prepared to facilitate, at short notice, a meeting with the chair of the board of Bord Bia," he said.

Protest

Meanwhile, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is continuing its rolling protest outside Bord Bia headquarters in Dublin.

The farm organisation, which began the protest on Monday (January 26), said the position of the Bord Bia chair, Larry Murrin, is "untenable", adding that "farmer confidence will only be restored with his removal".

IFA president Francie Gorman said their members will remain outside the offices until Larry Murrin is removed as chair.

Yesterday, tractors joined the protest which attracted IFA members from across the country.

Gorman said farmers are "really angry" following this controversy, particularly in relation to the additional requirements placed on farmers through Bord Bia's quality assurance (QA) schemes, while lower quality beef imports from countries such as Brazil continue to enter the market.

Confidence

Following a special board meeting last week, Bord Bia Jim O'Toole said "the board of Bord Bia reached an outcome to support Larry Murrin as chairman of Bord Bia".

"This was not unanimous, with the farmer organisations represented on the board, IFA and ICMSA, not supporting the chairman," he noted.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, has expressed "full confidence" in Larry Murrin as Bord Bia chair.

The minister said "that no rules were broken" by Murrin or his company.