Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin is currently appearing before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food.

Agriland is providing live updates from the committee below:

3:23p.m: Chair of the committee Aindrias Moynihan tells Larry Murrin that "Irish farmers expect you to be their champion".

In response, Murrin said: "I am a champion for Irish quality assured beef and Irish farm produce in general and I have been since the day we started our business". The meeting has now closed.

3:25p.m: The chair of Bord Bia highlighted to the committee that in the context of animal feed, Ireland imports a couple of million tonnes of animal feed into this country every year to feed Irish farm animals.

"I don't have a problem with that part of those imports come from Mercosur countries.

"I actually don't have a problem with that personally, but it does suggest, to me, that in the light of the discussion being had here today, where the phrase double standards has been pronounced in questioning, it does suggest to me that the double standard allegation applies to Dawn Farm Foods, but not to farming".

3:20p.m: Murrin hears that farmers have to “jump through hoops” to comply with Bord Bia standards and from their perspective, it looks like the same rules do not apply to the chair of the board that is overseeing those standards.

In response, the Bord Bia chair said: “I have nothing but the highest regard for the Irish farming community in every field of operations that it runs.

"I understand the complexity to a certain degree about quality assurance, as I do about the complexity of quality assurance in the food manufacturing business.

"I understand the frustrations of all the stakeholders, but without quality assurance, we wouldn't have international markets for our beef, our pork, or any other products we produce.

"And by the same token, without quality assurance and strength in it, Dawn Farms wouldn't have the international customer set that it has.

"Because supply chain, security, and food safety are the two dominating decision-makers," he said.

3:11pm: According to Murrin, the Bord Bia quality assurance scheme is one of the best quality assurance schemes in the world.

"The Irish food safety management system, as applied by the various regulators who perform in that space, is one of the best in the world, as far as I'm concerned," he said.

3:15p.m: Murrin tells meeting that "Irish beef stands above any beef in the world". However, he will not give an undertaking not to source beef from Brazil.

3:10p.m: Committee chair Aindrais Moynihan says meeting time is drawing to a close. Murrin says he is happy to give the meeting 10 more minutes but he "can't afford 20" due to "diary commitments". The meeting is now hearing short questions from 10 non-members of the committee.

3:05p.m: "We sell no product under the Bord Bia quality assurance mark – we are a business-to-business company.

"We sell zero consumer products. We are a very big buyer of QA-marked raw materials in Ireland," Murrin said.

3:01p.m: Independent Senator Victor Boyhan tells committee that this issue has “become very personal” and tells Murrin that “the government is clearly supporting” his role in Bord Bia.

He said it is time to “get over people’s egos and get back to business and promote agriculture”.

He asked Murrin if it was illegal to import Brazilian beef into Ireland or bring chickens from outside of the EU into Ireland. Murrin said it was not.

Boyhan asked him if he would reconsider his company’s sourcing policy in the EU.

In response, Murrin said: "We can't ignore the needs of customers in this particular framework. I'm absolutely open to sitting down and having dialogue with the farm organisations - absolutely open.

"I am ultimately also open to assisting to my knowledge, and other expertise that will make Ireland stronger in every respect," he said.

2:51p.m: Larry Murrin said that Dawn Farm Foods is a member of Origin Green but does not have gold membership status under the programme. He said the company is “working very hard to retain it".

2:30p.m: In response to Fine Gael TD William Aird, Murrin said he supports the Irish government's opposition against the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement in its current form.

2:28p.m: Larry Murrin tells the committee it is his intention to remain as Bord Bia chair.

2:21p.m: Murrin was asked to elaborate on his remarks that “proceedings here today are being watched, and this could have consequences for us”.

In response, he said: “This is a very sensitive issue, and I would absolutely recognise that.

"My company has done absolutely nothing wrong and the issue has been amplified beyond its actual importance in the context of Dawn Farms, or any other Irish company, being able to negotiate and fulfil, not just contracts, the relationships that we have in the job that we do for our customers are of significant depth and standing in terms of years of service.

"We cannot send a message out here that this is 'Fortress Ireland', that no non-Irish materials or ingredients can be used to produce the products that those customers source in Ireland, trust Ireland, and rely upon to fulfil their supply chains.

"That's very significant, indeed, and it is potentially long-term damage to the Irish food and Irish sector. That's the context," he said.

Earlier in the meeting, Murrin confirmed that Dawn Farm Foods sources "some poultry" from Brazil, but does not source any pig meat from the South American country.

2:20p.m: Jim O'Toole, chief executive of Bord Bia tells the committee: "The key metric for us in terms of how this issue is playing out with farmers and our farm auditors is the level of cancellation if farmers don't want to participate in our Quality Assurance scheme or because they feel aggrieved about something that they would cancel their audit.

"I'm happy to confirm to you and to the committee that the level of cancellation that we had a farm level from our auditors, is the very same as it was last year and the very same as it was the year before for this period of time".

2:16p.m: In response to Fianna Fáil Senator Paul Daly, Murrin said: "Price has nothing to do with us being able to demonstrate that we could source in the southern hemisphere, in this case Brazil if the need arose".

2:10p.m: Murrin tells committee he has had messages of support from farmers from around the country and said he has nothing but empathy and understanding for Irish farming.

He also outlined Dawn Farm Foods contingency plans to the committee: “Part of the conditions of our contractual obligations with our global customers.

"If anything happened, one of our plants in, let's say Naas, God forbid, part of our contingency has to be that we have to demonstrate that we have dual manufacturing capability in other countries, meaning UK or Germany, in our case, that can seamlessly replicate those products without any interruptions to our global supply change.

"Without contingency, Ireland wouldn't enjoy the level of support it does from customers".

1:53pm: The meeting has been suspended for a break before questioning of Larry Murrin by members continues.

1:50p.m: Larry Murrin tells committee that Dawn Farm Foods has no investment in Brazil.

Murrin also told Deputy Kenny that: "The fundamentals of the business that Dawn Farms is, and there are other businesses in Ireland, too. But to speak about us for a brief moment, what we do is a little bit like making the engines for BMW, if I may draw that analogy.

"Everything is done in accordance with our the customer's specifications - 40-50 million consumers a week consume products that we make through some of the best known brands in the world.

"So, those brands cannot afford not to have product on their shelves. Supply chain security is the number one issue, higher than price, I might add".

Deputy Martin Kenny had asked Murrin if he disclosed to the Bord Bia board that his company were “using beef products from Brazil or from outside the European Union” when he was appointed. Murrin said that all his interests were “fully disclosed”. He also said that he was “completely aligned with the needs of Irish farming”.

1:40p.m: Larry Murrin tells Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice: "I'm not a champion for Brazil". He said that Dawn Farm Foods' quality assurance teams "work with the most reputable companies in Brazil, when they need to".

1:35p.m: Fianna Fáil TD Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere asked Murrin if he could understand why farmers see a conflict of interest here.

"Nothing wrong has happened here, nothing underhanded, nothing illegal, nothing in any way dark about it.

"Our business model in Dawn Farm Foods is well-known and recognised by every government stakeholder that is out there and has been since the day the business started 40 years ago.

"We cannot create fortress Ireland here. We rely on being able to satisfy the needs of our foreign global customers,” Murrin said.

The Bord Bia said he understood this issue has been driven by social media.

1:30p.m: The committee heard that Dawn Farms imported less than 1% of its beef from Brazil in 2025 to meet a requirement of contingency planning.

"Sourcing a small quantity outside of Ireland does not diminish our commitment to Irish beef or Irish farmers. It is for us a necessity that underpins out business," Murrin said.

He said that Dawn Farms is a business to business company which specialises in customised cook meat ingredients.

"We have very few generic products and we don’t sell anything through retail channels whatsoever," he added.

1:25pm: Murrin said that "a significant proportion" of the beef sourced by Dawn Farms comes from Ireland. He declined to say what tonnage of beef was sourced from Brazil.

1:20pm: Larry Murrin said "respectful dialogue" is the only way forward. "I don't do ultimatums unless they come from my wife," referring to a call from IFA at the recent Bord Bia meeting for him to resign.

1:15p.m: Murrin said it is "completely incorrect" to suggest that Dawn Farms promotes products containing non-Irish beef under the Bord Bia quality mark.

"Those claims are false and have caused damage. And I should say at this point that there are customers of Ireland and the Irish agri-food sector looking at these proceedings today," he said

1:10p.m: Murrin rejected claims is that it is incompatible for him to be chair of Bord Bia while being involved with Dawn Farms.

"To be clear, I have never been conflicted in undertaking my role as chair of Bord Bia which is to lead the board and ensure its effectiveness.

"I have spent my entire working life advocating on behalf of Irish food, drink, and agriculture in global markets in the best interests of Ireland.

"I have spent every week since assuming the chair of Bord Bia doing likewise. That will not change."

1:08p.m: Murrin said Dawn Farms imported less than 1% of its beef from Brazil in 2025 to meet a requirement of contingency planning.

He said sourcing a small quantity outside Ireland "does not diminish our commitment to Irish beef or farmers".

He said this is a necessity that underpins the company's business, and added that "our labelling has always been transparent".

1:05p.m: Murrin told the committee he co-founded Dawn Farm Foods in 1985 with the Queally family of Co. Waterford.

"Today, we employ 1,400 people, 700 of whom are based at our headquarters in Naas, Co. Kildare.

"We are the largest cooked meat ingredients company in Europe, with manufacturing operations in Ireland, the UK and Germany, supplying customers in 55 countries worldwide.

"Since 2020 alone, our economic impact in Ireland is in excess of €1 billion and the majority of that represents Irish raw materials, wages and services," he said.

Murrin said Dawn Farms does not kill cattle or produce beef and is "a major customer of Irish beef producers".

1:03p.m: Murrin said his role as chair of Bord Bia is a non-executive position. "As chair, I do not manage day-to-day operations, run Quality Assurance programmes, or manage the organisation".

1:00p.m: Murrin said he understands the frustration being expressed by farmers. However, he said he does not support the behaviour of Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) members "occupyingBord Bia reception in recent days".

12:58p.m: In his opening, Larry Murrin, who is CEO of Dawn Farm Foods and chair of Bord Bia, said have enormous respect for Irish farmers.

"I am the son of a farmer from Co. Meath. Farming shaped my values, my work ethic, and my understanding of markets. Today, many part-time farmers work across my business at every level of the organisation, and my company is fundamentally connected to Irish agriculture - economically, socially and personally".

12:54p.m: Following an initial private session, chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food Aindrias Moynihan has now opened the special meeting. Larry Murrin Bord Bia chair has been joined at the committee by Jim O'Toole, Bord Bia CEO; John Murray, director of sectors; and Deirdre Ryan director of Origin Green. Deputy Moynihan told members that they should direct questions to Murrin only.