Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has said that he is concerned over the impact that a continuing protest in relation to Bord Bia will have on Ireland's international reputation.

The minister was commenting on the ongoing protest by members of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) at - and inside - the offices of Bord Bia in Dublin.

This is part of the ongoing controversy surrounding Bord Bia chairperson Larry Murrin, whose business, Dawn Farm Foods, sources some beef from Brazil.

The IFA and other organisations have said that this clashes with Murrin's role as chair of the state body tasked with promoting Irish food.

The IFA have called for Murrin to resign or be removed from his role on the Bord Bia board.

Speaking to Agriland, Minister Heydon warned that the protests may be doing more harm than good for Irish farmers.

He said: "The [Bord Bia] board met yesterday [Wednesday, February 19] for four and a half hours and they got on with their work, and I’m here today getting on with my work.

"I'd really love if the protests were concluded, and my door is always open to engage with the IFA, and on broader issues like we did for five hours last Friday [February 13] in the stakeholder group I put forward," the minister added.

"We have so many big issues facing the country this year. I am concerned about the impact these ongoing protests are having on...our reputation internationally.

"There’s a way we can discuss these issues and resolve them, and I do think we do need to look at how we can get beyond protest. I respect everyone’s right to do so, but we are impacting people’s ability to do their work in Bord Bia," he added.

According to the minister, that work of Bord Bia is "really important to farmers".

"So my door remains open to try to come to a conclusion with those protests, and farmers can make their points heard in a way that allows everyone to do their job as well," the minister said.