A report for Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon from the board of Bord Bia has said that there is "no legal or governance issue at play" over its chairperson Larry Murrin.

The board met yesterday (Thursday, January 22) after it was revealed that Murrin's business, Dawn Farm Foods, sources a small percentage of its beef from Brazil.

This was followed by strong criticism from several farm organisations and some politicians, who expressed a view that Murrin's use of Brazilian beef in his business clashed with his role of chair of the body tasked with promoting Irish food.

Following that meeting, most members of the board have backed Murrin to stay on in the role, and it is understood that he will do so.

However, the two farm organisations on the board, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) have both called for Minister Heydon to intervene and remove Murrin from the role.

A report on yesterday's meeting was written up and submitted to Minister Heydon. This report stated that "there was acknowledgement that there was no legal or governance issue at play", and the report suggests that all members shared this view.

The report went on to say that, during the meeting, confidential commercial information was shared by the chairpersonoutlining the "complex supply chain requirements of global customers".

Several other board members shared their similar experience of multinational food brands, according to the report.

"All members then had a greater understanding of the purchasing decisions required for serving international customers," it said.

The report for the minister said that the board "carefully considered" the reputational risk that Murrin's resignation as chairperson might pose to the Irish food industry and the confidence that international customers have in the Irish food system.

The farm organisations provided a counter view that the purchasing of Brazilian beef, regardless of quantity, was contradictory to the efforts farmers make towards the production of Irish qualityassured beef.

Views were expressed as to what would be required to strengthen farmer confidence to address these concerns.

Global contingency supply requirements

The report also outlined Dawn Farm Foods' "global contingency supply requirements".

The report said that some brand customers of its products have specific requirements in terms of sourcing from selected countries.

Therefore, contingency plans are needed to ensure continuity of supply for all "contingency eventualities", and in some cases to meet specific customer requirements, according to Dawn Farm Foods.

The contingency plans are in place to take account of major disruptions, such as animal disease, which may require the sourcing of supply beyond Europe.

"While these contracts with these multinationals may require contingency supplies which are not optimum for us, it enables the opportunity for significant supplies of Irish beef to be sold to these premium customers," Dawn Farm Foods said.

According to the business, this is not a new practice for itself or similar companies.

Banqueting Food Systems

The report also mentioned Banqueting Food Systems, a catering company in which Larry Murrin has "involvement".

Bord Bia awarded a contract to this catering business for indoor catering services at Bord Bia Bloom. The contract commenced in March 2023 and runs until this coming March.

The report said: "Bord Bia runs all tender competitions in accordance with public procurement rules and guidelines, and competitions are run though the eTenders portal.

"In this case, the contract was awarded prior to the appointment of Mr. Murrin as chair of Bord Bia," the report states.

"Mr. Murrin's involvement with Banqueting Food Systems Ltd is noted on his statement of interests, returned under the requirements of the Ethics in Public Office Acts," the report added.