Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA) members were not amused at Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon’s frank response to their call for representation on the board of Bord Bia.

Speaking at ICSA’s AGM in Portlaoise on Tuesday, Minister Heydon said that he would not be considering changing the makeup of the current board structure.

“If other ministers promised you something that never happened, that’s not me that’s not how I roll,” the Minister said.

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“I’m very straight and honest with people – I don’t intend to change the legislation.

“When the dispute first arose about Bord Bia, I pulled together a stakeholder forum because I wanted each of the six farming organisations around the table,” he said.

Farm organisations account for two of the 14 members of the Bord Bia board and currently, these seats are held by respective presidents of the IFA and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA).

ICSA president Seán McNamara argued that the association has been looking for a representative on the board for over a decade and that other farm organisations deserve a seat.

However, Minister Heydon argued that ICSA’s input has never been stronger.

“There’s a farmer’s forum that has been established, there has been out-reach meetings in the last two weeks since and ICSA has a direct input,” Minister Heydon said.

“ICSA has never had an input like it’s going to have. You can criticise me, but I’ve given you something no other minister has given you, which is an input into the role of Bord Bia,” he said.