Farmers must believe that the person at the top of Bord Bia is fully committed to the cause, not taking an each-way bet on Brazilian beef, IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan has said.
He reiterated the IFA’s call for Larry Murrin, chair of Bord Bia, to be removed as chair.
Hanrahan said that Murrin’s admission that his company started importing Brazilian beef in 2024 and significantly increased the volumes in 2025 coincides with the rise in European and Irish cattle prices.
“This is nothing more than an attempt to undermine prices Irish beef farmers get and to increase his own profits,” Hanrahan claimed.
“Mr Murrin expressly stated in his interview in the Irish Farmers Journal that he didn’t import any Brazilian beef in 2020, 2021, 2022 or 2023. He said he brought a little in in 2024 and more in 2025,” Hanrahan said.
Lecturing
Murrin, in his position as chair of Bord Bia, is constantly lecturing farmers about higher standards, the IFA said.
“The IFA/Irish Farmers Journal investigation showed that Brazil has no standards and the recent food recall due to hormones being found in Brazilian beef confirms that. Yet Larry Murrin is happy to bring it in,” he said.
“In any event, the QA scheme Bord Bia devises and oversees has standards that are well above the minimum standard the EU sets for imported beef. Fifty-seven thousand Irish farmers participate in these schemes in good faith. Bord Bia is the police force for this scheme yet the man at the top is undermining it,” Hanrahan said.
He added that one astonishing aspect of the whole affair is that the Government is attributing the value of Ireland’s agri-food exports to Murrin and Bord Bia rather than farmers.
“Their quality assurance mark has value because of the product it is affixed to. This product is produced by farmers. Nobody can eat a logo,” he said.
Finishing cattle
“Bord Bia has never bought or sold a kilo of beef, never calved a cow, lambed a ewe or invested in finishing cattle. They have now started to believe their own publicity that they are the reason our product is valued the world over. They play their part, but it is the farmers who produce the raw material that deserve the credit,” the IFA said.
Hanrahan said this “charade” had gone on long enough and that “the hard work of farmers in producing to standards recognised across the world is being damaged”.
“This must stop. Larry Murrin must be removed if the organisation is ever to have trust and confidence of farmers again,” he said.
Read more
‘Emotional nonsense’: Murrin on beef imports and why he intends to stay put
IFA says its protest at Bord Bia will continue until chair resigns
Farmers must believe that the person at the top of Bord Bia is fully committed to the cause, not taking an each-way bet on Brazilian beef, IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan has said.
He reiterated the IFA’s call for Larry Murrin, chair of Bord Bia, to be removed as chair.
Hanrahan said that Murrin’s admission that his company started importing Brazilian beef in 2024 and significantly increased the volumes in 2025 coincides with the rise in European and Irish cattle prices.
“This is nothing more than an attempt to undermine prices Irish beef farmers get and to increase his own profits,” Hanrahan claimed.
“Mr Murrin expressly stated in his interview in the Irish Farmers Journal that he didn’t import any Brazilian beef in 2020, 2021, 2022 or 2023. He said he brought a little in in 2024 and more in 2025,” Hanrahan said.
Lecturing
Murrin, in his position as chair of Bord Bia, is constantly lecturing farmers about higher standards, the IFA said.
“The IFA/Irish Farmers Journal investigation showed that Brazil has no standards and the recent food recall due to hormones being found in Brazilian beef confirms that. Yet Larry Murrin is happy to bring it in,” he said.
“In any event, the QA scheme Bord Bia devises and oversees has standards that are well above the minimum standard the EU sets for imported beef. Fifty-seven thousand Irish farmers participate in these schemes in good faith. Bord Bia is the police force for this scheme yet the man at the top is undermining it,” Hanrahan said.
He added that one astonishing aspect of the whole affair is that the Government is attributing the value of Ireland’s agri-food exports to Murrin and Bord Bia rather than farmers.
“Their quality assurance mark has value because of the product it is affixed to. This product is produced by farmers. Nobody can eat a logo,” he said.
Finishing cattle
“Bord Bia has never bought or sold a kilo of beef, never calved a cow, lambed a ewe or invested in finishing cattle. They have now started to believe their own publicity that they are the reason our product is valued the world over. They play their part, but it is the farmers who produce the raw material that deserve the credit,” the IFA said.
Hanrahan said this “charade” had gone on long enough and that “the hard work of farmers in producing to standards recognised across the world is being damaged”.
“This must stop. Larry Murrin must be removed if the organisation is ever to have trust and confidence of farmers again,” he said.
Read more
‘Emotional nonsense’: Murrin on beef imports and why he intends to stay put
IFA says its protest at Bord Bia will continue until chair resigns
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