IFA deputy president Alice Doyle has fired a shot across the bows of Bord Bia, warning that the ongoing stand-off between the IFA and the State body is a battle and “probably a war”.

Speaking to around 700 farmers who attended an IFA public meeting in Claremorris, Co Mayo, last Thursday night, the Wexford woman said that “this is a battle, don’t be in any doubt about it”.

She said that the anger and determination in the room was palpable.

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“I hope we take our representation a bit more seriously than our political representatives take their electorate,” she said.

Jailed

The IFA deputy president said that while she wasn’t around in 1966 for the farmers protest which saw farmers jailed, that the association is now back in 1966, 60 years later.

“We’re fighting for respect, respect for the work we do, for the quality of what we produce and we cannot have that door shut on us.

“We won in ’66, we’ll win in 2026,” she said to applause.

Her comments come as the IFA and Bord Bia remain at loggerheads over the position of Larry Murrin as chair of the Bord Bia board.

IFA president Francie Gorman told the Irish Farmers Journal after the meeting that the farm body would protest “as long as it takes” to remove Murrin from his position.

In a letter to Bord Bia last week the IFA demanded that the State body embark on a seven-point review process.

These include a list of minimum eligibility requirements for future appointments to the board and for the position of chair, a review of the governance structure, and a review of audit processes under the quality assurance (QA) schemes.

The IFA continues to insist that Larry Murrin step aside from his position as Bord Bia chair. The protest at Bord Bia’s headquarters would be lifted if the demands outlined in the letter were met, the IFA stated.

However, Murrin continues to enjoy the support of a majority of Bord Bia’s board, as well as that of the Government and the Minister for Agriculture.