Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said the questions around Larry Murrin’s chairmanship of Bord Bia have “been well-aired and now it is time to move on” from the controversy.
His comments come as five IFA members continue to stage a sit-in protest inside Bord Bia HQ in Dublin and ahead of an IFA meeting on the matter in Claremorris, Co Mayo, this Thursday night.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in Co Donegal on Thursday at the launch of a new cross-border TB project, he said that the IFA’s ongoing protest at Bord Bia headquarters in Dublin is impinging on the work of the State body.
“That’s not good. We have international clients coming in here, inward buyer visits and the likes. They’re coming here to buy farmers’ food and produce and I am concerned about the impact this will have on trade down the line.
“I absolutely respect farmers’ right, like any cohort of people in a democracy to express their dissatisfaction about something and to peacefully protest, but when that’s impacting farmers’ own best interests, that’s not a good space for us to be in,” he said.
Door remains open
Minister Heydon said that his door remains open to farm organisations for dialogue.
“I held a five-hour stakeholder group meeting with the IFA and other farm organisations last Friday, where I’ve a number of interventions agreed with Bord Bia and with my Department to take steps in that regard.
“My door remains open to have meetings with the farm organisations directly, in particular with the IFA who are the ones who are protesting,” he said.
We’re four weeks in now, I thought that penny would have dropped well before now
He commented that the Government’s position on Larry Murrin “has been crystallised over the last four weeks.
“It’s been discussed ad nauseum in the Oireachtas, we’ve had a vote in the Oireachtas that has crystallised that decision as well.”
When asked if Government’s position on the matter had changed, he responded by saying “God, no”.
Tom Byrne of Co Wicklow is one of the five farmers that remain inside Bord Bia. \ Claire Nash
“We’re four weeks in now, I thought that penny would have dropped well before now. Our position has been crystal clear. We’ve explained that for very good reasons,” he said.
“This does take explaining, so I understand the sentiment of farmers around this, particularly if you’re dealing in soundbites, that is just, on the face of it, one thing but when you actually go through the detail of what these international global trade deals are worth to our farmers and what they involve in terms of contingency planning, it is explainable and it is understandable if people want to.
Our position has been crystal clear
“There has been no rules broken here, Government has been very clear in terms of the position of the chair and it is absolutely appropriate that commercially-minded people that have commercial experience and are successful, would be chairs of semi-State bodies, that isn’t a conflict of interest, that’s a smart move from my regard.
“That question has been dealt with and it’s been dealt with over eight or nine hours in the Oireachtas through our committees. IFA got to have their response to Mr Murrin, who was in there for three hours himself and answered extensive questions. Then we had a vote on the Dáil on it following a private members bill from the opposition,” he said.
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Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said the questions around Larry Murrin’s chairmanship of Bord Bia have “been well-aired and now it is time to move on” from the controversy.
His comments come as five IFA members continue to stage a sit-in protest inside Bord Bia HQ in Dublin and ahead of an IFA meeting on the matter in Claremorris, Co Mayo, this Thursday night.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in Co Donegal on Thursday at the launch of a new cross-border TB project, he said that the IFA’s ongoing protest at Bord Bia headquarters in Dublin is impinging on the work of the State body.
“That’s not good. We have international clients coming in here, inward buyer visits and the likes. They’re coming here to buy farmers’ food and produce and I am concerned about the impact this will have on trade down the line.
“I absolutely respect farmers’ right, like any cohort of people in a democracy to express their dissatisfaction about something and to peacefully protest, but when that’s impacting farmers’ own best interests, that’s not a good space for us to be in,” he said.
Door remains open
Minister Heydon said that his door remains open to farm organisations for dialogue.
“I held a five-hour stakeholder group meeting with the IFA and other farm organisations last Friday, where I’ve a number of interventions agreed with Bord Bia and with my Department to take steps in that regard.
“My door remains open to have meetings with the farm organisations directly, in particular with the IFA who are the ones who are protesting,” he said.
We’re four weeks in now, I thought that penny would have dropped well before now
He commented that the Government’s position on Larry Murrin “has been crystallised over the last four weeks.
“It’s been discussed ad nauseum in the Oireachtas, we’ve had a vote in the Oireachtas that has crystallised that decision as well.”
When asked if Government’s position on the matter had changed, he responded by saying “God, no”.
Tom Byrne of Co Wicklow is one of the five farmers that remain inside Bord Bia. \ Claire Nash
“We’re four weeks in now, I thought that penny would have dropped well before now. Our position has been crystal clear. We’ve explained that for very good reasons,” he said.
“This does take explaining, so I understand the sentiment of farmers around this, particularly if you’re dealing in soundbites, that is just, on the face of it, one thing but when you actually go through the detail of what these international global trade deals are worth to our farmers and what they involve in terms of contingency planning, it is explainable and it is understandable if people want to.
Our position has been crystal clear
“There has been no rules broken here, Government has been very clear in terms of the position of the chair and it is absolutely appropriate that commercially-minded people that have commercial experience and are successful, would be chairs of semi-State bodies, that isn’t a conflict of interest, that’s a smart move from my regard.
“That question has been dealt with and it’s been dealt with over eight or nine hours in the Oireachtas through our committees. IFA got to have their response to Mr Murrin, who was in there for three hours himself and answered extensive questions. Then we had a vote on the Dáil on it following a private members bill from the opposition,” he said.
Read more
Minister gets commitment from Bord Bia to improve farmer experience with audits
Five remain inside Bord Bia lobby
Nun anoints IFA protesters with ashes at Bord Bia
Bord Bia rules out legal action against IFA
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