The chair of Bord Bia said today (Thursday, January 29) that his "record stands" as "a passionate advocate" for the Irish food industry.

In a sit down interview with Agriland, Larry Murrin, who is also the CEO of Dawn Farms, said that he strongly rejects claims that his role as chair of Bord Bia is "incompatible" with leading a multinational company.

Murrin said that after 45 years in the industry he remains "a passionate advocate for Irish food, farming, agriculture and grain products".

"And I don't have to defend that record. My record stands," Murrin stated.

He is currently at the centre of a storm over whether his role as chair of Bord Bia is, as some have claimed "incompatible" with his role as CEO of Dawn Farms.

The Irish company has confirmed that the business sources some beef from Brazil. According to Dawn Farms, Brazilian beef accounted for 1% of its beef supply in 2025.

But overall based on its latest figures for 2025 the company claims its "purchases of Irish beef" places it "solidly inside the top 15 buyers of Irish beef globally".

Yet it is that sourcing policy which has sparked anger from farm organisations and some politicians, who claim that Murrin's business sourcing beef from Brazil does not sit well with his role as chair of the body tasked with promoting Irish food.

The country's largest farming organisations, as well as the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, have said they believe Larry Murrin's role as chair of Bord Bia is "incompatible" with his role with Dawn Farms.

Bord Bia's mission is "to bring Ireland's outstanding food, drink and horticulture produce to the world".

Murrin believes the issue over Dawn Farms' sourcing policy has been "amplified beyond logic by noise on social media here in Ireland".

"There is both a resolution and an advantage to Ireland Inc. in that dialogue being had - with the possibility that if the dialogue is constructive, Ireland Inc. could emerge stronger, and the farming community - who I have the deepest respect for and always have had - would actually understand the areas of complexity involved in our business."

Dawn Farms

Dawn Farms is one of Europe's largest business-to-business (B2B) specialist suppliers of cooked protein ingredients.

The company, which has been in business since 1985, has won global supply contracts valued at millions of euro with leading brands in the pizza, sandwich, snack and food manufacturing brands.

According to Murrin, the company started off with 12 people in a converted warehouse in Cherry Orchard in Ballyfermot, Dublin.

Today it is a multinational company with customers in 55 markets around the world.

According to the Bord Bia chair he has "huge empathy and understanding for Irish farming. I always have. I understand the issues", Murrin said.

But he is also keen to outline the reality of what a multinational company based in Ireland has to do to win business.

"We're not just a supplier - we're a supply partner to many global restaurant chains and major food manufacturers who depend on the expertise that we bring to the party in the context of what we do and what we have developed, to underpin their products in their markets in over 55 destinations.

"We're a B2B company; we're the largest producer of cooked meat, multi-species ingredients in Europe. We do 82% of our business with just 12 entities around the world. The least length of service or partnership that we have with those entities stands at 22 years to 38 years," Murrin added.

Murrin told Agriland one of the key issues for food brands and for its customers in 2026 is "supply chain security and contingency".

He has just returned from a meeting to discuss this with one of Dawn Farms' major customers; Dawn Farms has been their primary supplier of cooked meat ingredients for 38 years and they are the "world's largest restaurant chain".

He said supply chain security and contingency has become the "number one item" for most food brands, especially over the last five years.

"That's how we look at the market every day. We have to have the robustness of contingency, proven contingency that we won't miss a beat in the context of keeping our customers supply chain full," Murrin said.

Bord Bia

The Bord Bia chair acknowledges that the current storm over Dawn Farms' sourcing policy is "to a certain extent undermining" the work of the organisation at this time.

This week together with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Bord Bia led a three-day trade mission to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Meanwhile back in Dublin farmers were protesting in the wind and rain outside Bord Bia's headquarters over the future of the chair of the organisation.

According to Murrin his biggest concern at this time is "A- Bord Bia on equal measure, B - the reputation of Ireland Inc. as a country whose capable of serving global brands with their needs".

He is determined to stay in the role of chair of Bord Bia because he knew "on the day I was appointed, that there would be controversies, thorny issues to be dealt with in the course of my role".

"I didn't know one of them would be amplified to be about me or Dawn Farms," Murrin said.

"However Irish food and drink exports are well more than just about beef - beef is a critical part, but we have a thriving drinks industry, we have a thriving prepared consumer foods industry; we are attempting to create a thriving horticulture industry and we have many other subsets within all of that," he added.

Although Larry Murrin is keen not to be portrayed as a victim of timing it clearly has not helped him that details of Dawn Farms' sourcing policy came to light against the backdrop of the signing of the EU-Mercosur partnership.

He admits that the Mercosur deal may have been a "lightning rod" for what unfolded.

Murrin is also keen to point out that Dawn Farms' sourcing policy has not fallen foul of any Bord Bia policy.

"If you want to go to that model, that's a whole other kettle of fish and people need to be real about what's happening out there in the world and not see it in a bubble," he said.

Murrin has agreed to appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food next week where he will set out his company's sourcing policy and why he wants to remain as chair of Bord Bia to senators and TDs.

In the meantime he wants Irish farmers who may feel that they have been let down by Bord Bia to understand what he believes the real issues are behind the storm over Dawn Farms' sourcing policy.

"I stand on my record", he said and Murrin maintains that Bord Bia is "the jewel in the crown in the Irish food and agri-sector".

"I don't plan on going anywhere in the context of my role in Bord Bia," he added.

Protest

Farm representatives have declined offers to meet with Larry Murrin, who has said he wants to outline the details in full to provide context.

The IFA has continued its rolling protest at the Bord Bia office in Dublin since the start of the week and claims it will not move until the chair has resigned or been removed from the role.

The protest has even moved to Leinster House this afternoon where a number of tractors have arrived to try and increase pressure on the government to take action to remove Larry Murrin.