The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has proposed a "framework" to resolve the dispute with Bord Bia over its chairperson Larry Murrin.

The IFA has called on Murrin to resign or be removed over his company's sourcing of beef from Brazil.

The IFA has maintained a protest outside Bord Bia's head offices in Dublin, while five members of the farm organisation have been inside the building for around three weeks in a sit-in protest.

The IFA has proposed that a review should take place addressing a range of issues it has raised with Bord Bia.

The association said that Murrin should step aside for at least the duration of that review.

The IFA said that if the terms of this "framework" are agreed to, it will suspend its protest.

In a letter, seen by Agriland, to the members of the board of Bord Bia, IFA president Francie Gorman acknowledged correspondence this week on behalf of the board requesting IFA to call off its protest at the Bord Bia premises and to instruct those remaining inside the building to leave.

Gorman said he has taken on board the points made by board members about IFA's protest inside and outside the Bord Bia offices.

"IFA fully recognises the contribution Bord Bia has made to the Irish farming sector since its inception in 1994. We also recognise the critical role that Quality Assurance schemes play in elevating the quality and provenance of Irish food produce," Gorman added.

"IFA is outlining the following framework to resolve the current impasse and to help restore confidence in Bord Bia," the IFA president's letter stated.

It calls for the board of Bord Bia to "immediately commit" to initiate a review process into the issues that the IFA has raised in recent weeks.

The farm organisation proposes that this review process would consist of seven 'strands':

Board membership eligibility - A list of minimum eligibility requirements would be agreed for future appointments to the board and for the position of chair;
Board governance and terms of reference - These would be reviewed with a focus on ensuring they are "fit-for-purpose" and to clarify the role of the chair and the board. The IFA said that consideration would be given to what constitutes "a conflict of interest or a perceived conflict of interest";
Farmer Quality Assurance (QA) schemes and inspection process - The IFA wants a review of audit and inspection processes, including review of the purpose of the sustainability survey. This strand would also review the proposed risk-based audit approach, including commitments on reduction in audit inspection times;
Non-farmer certified QA schemes/standards - Farmer representation would be included on the Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) for agreeing non-farmer QA schemes/standards, particularly given that processors currently have representation on farmer QA scheme TACs;
Origin Green - The criteria for eligibility for Origin Green would be reviewed. This would then be overseen by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) including farmers, processors, retail, and food service businesses;
Bord Bia online accreditations - A review would take place of all Bord Bia websites to ensure all listed accreditations are fully up to date;
Bord Bia QA scheme overreach - A full review of the use of QA schemes for non-market related schemes - such as the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) - would be undertaken. This would also include the need for the capture of information not required for marketing purposes being part of the audit process.

The IFA has proposed that all strands of the review process would take place under the auspices of a 3-person sub-committee of the board, with membership to be pre-agreed by the board.

Under the farm organisation's plan, draft final reports will be published for each strand pending further comment and feedback by stakeholders.

Gorman's letter states that the IFA "believes that confidence in Bord Bia can only begin to be restored with the appointment of a new chair".

"However, in the interests of breaking the current impasse and in acknowledgment of the constructive approach taken by the board, we would propose that the chair would step aside from his position for the course of the review process," the IFA president said.

"If all of the above is agreed, IFA will suspend its protest inside and outside the Bord Bia offices with immediate effect," he added.

IFA meeting

Meanwhile, the IFA has arranged another farmer meeting on the ongoing dispute with Bord Bia, following a major meeting in Claremorris, Co. Mayo this week.

This next meeting will take place this Tuesday (February 24) at the Clanard Court Hotel, Athy, Co. Kildare.

The meeting is set to begin at 8:00p.m, with Gorman set to speak at it.

In a statement earlier today (Saturday, February 21), Gorman indicated that, without any movement on the issue, the IFA protest is set to continue at least until March 9.

"Our roster of farmers from around the country to maintain the protest outside Bord Bia is now set out until Monday, March 9, and can be rolled over for as long as is needed," the IFA president said.