Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon is to request that Bord Bia and its board develops a timely and effective action plan to address the 22 recommendations in the report on governance.
The IFA has sought a meeting with the minister on the report, with the farm body stating that the report did not examine the reason that resulted in the dispute in the first place – the importation of Brazilian beef by the chair Larry Murrin’s company Dawn Farm Foods.
“I note that Bord Bia is already increasing its engagement with stakeholders through both the establishment of a farmer forum on quality assurance schemes – with the first meeting taking place later this month – and the development of an audit-ready campaign, to support farmers as they prepare for their audit,” the minister said.
“I hope that these initiatives will enhance the two-way communication between Bord Bia and its farmer members, who are the bedrock of the agri-food sector’s export success.”
He said that the work Bord Bia carries out in promoting quality Irish food and drink products, both at home and abroad, delivers important benefits both to farmers and the food and drinks industry.
Accountability
“Having an effective and well-functioning board is also important to me as minister in ensuring proper accountability and governance for Bord Bia’s role as a non-commercial state body under the aegis of my Department. I am confident that the implementation of the recommendations from this independent review will help to further strengthen the board of Bord Bia in fulfilling its important mandate,” he said.
SHARING OPTIONS