Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny has said Bord Bia may have to come before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture to explain its non-compliant spending in 2025.

Last year the State agency recorded €1.2m in non-compliant spending, a decrease of 50% on 2024 levels. The Sinn Féin TD said that Bord Bia has “serious questions” to answer on the matter.

“It’s important that all State bodies using public funds are transparent in how they use them,” he said.

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“Bord Bia identified €1.2m in non-compliant procurement in 2025, representing 2.1% of its total supplier expenditure of €56m, and disclosed this in its annual report as required,” a Bord Bia spokesperson said.

“All of the expenditure was authorised and incurred for legitimate business purposes and represented value for money.

“The ‘non-compliant’ cases arose where, for example, contracts expired before new procurement arrangements were completed, purchases made by different teams cumulatively exceeded the relevant tender threshold, or required documentation was not fully completed at the time of expenditure,” the spokesperson said.

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon told the Irish Farmers Journal that when queried on its 2024 spending, the State agency outlined that new procurements procedures were to be put in place to provide guidance to improve compliance across the organisations arrangements.

“While there was a reduction in the level of non-compliance reported in 2025, down to €1.2m, further procedures are to be put in place to strengthen supplier-spend monitoring, contract management and staff guidance, to improve compliance across the procurement process within the organisation.”

IFA and ICMSA comment

IFA president and Bord Bia board member Francie Gorman said the “issue should have been addressed by the independent governance review into Bord Bia, as the minister was aware of it”.

The IFA said it will further undermine farmer confidence in Bord Bia and in the chair Larry Murrin.

The president of ICMSA and member of the board of Bord Bia, Denis Drennan said that this was a matter for the executives, and added that he was confident that an explanation would be forthcoming at the next board meeting.