Farmers are enraged at Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin's comments in this week's Irish Farmer's Journal, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) deputy president Alice Doyle has said.
Murrin described the controversy surrounding his company Dawn Farm Foods’ importing Brazilian beef as "emotional nonsense".
Doyle said that this response from Murrin is dismissing farmers and their families' concerns around the issue.
“I was at the protest last night when the Journal went online and farmers who saw it were raging to see their concerns dismissed in this way,” she said.
“These comments show the total contempt Murrin has for farmers and their families. He has no understanding of the important part farmers play in Bord Bia’s Quality Assurance schemes.
"It’s quite clear that he is out of touch with the farmers who are producing the food,” she said.
Murrin talks guff about the need to lead
Murrin, Doyle added, talks guff about the need to lead, but ignores the leadership shown by various elected farmer officers down through the years who encouraged farmers to participate in QA schemes when they were far from popular.
“If Murrin knows anything about leadership, he will know that putting yourself ahead of your organisation is the worst form of leadership.
"His whole interview is dripping with arrogance with Murrin hyping himself up and refusing to give due credit to farmers for their efforts,” Doyle argued.
The main emotion farmers are feeling over all of this, she said, is anger and the only nonsense is being spoken by the chair of Bord Bia who is now a lame duck chair.
Doyle urged Murrin to go "before he does any more damage".
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