Bord Bia Has Lost Credibility on Standards

The IFA National Council, consisting of elected representatives of farmers from all commodities and all counties, discussed the Bord Bia review on Tuesday at its most recent scheduled meeting.

The Council were adamant that farmer confidence in Bord Bia cannot be restored under Larry Murrin’s Chairmanship.

“The Council are frustrated and angry that the review was not in line with the agreed terms of reference as it turned out to be only a ‘Board Effectiveness Review’. It did not deal with the issues that caused and escalated this dispute. There are important recommendations in the review, but it did not fulfil what was in the original Terms of Reference,” IFA President Francie Gorman stated.

“We met the Minister last week and he said that he wants the 22 recommendations in the review to be implemented which is important. However, he stated that he will not take any further action on the issues which caused this dispute,” he said.

“It is now clear that Minister Heydon has made his choice. He has chosen to back Larry Murrin and the double standards that he represents,” Francie Gorman said.

“Bord Bia and the processing sector have been pushing for higher standards under their Quality Assurance Schemes. However, they have now lost credibility with farmers on standards,” he said.

“Farmers are unwilling to accept any additional asks as part of Bord Bia QA schemes and IFA will be using our representation at all levels in Bord Bia to convey this message on behalf of our members. The whole QA process needs to be simplified, not complicated further,” he said.

“For years, Bord Bia has used the image of Irish farmers to promote Origin Green. They use the tagline ‘powered by partnership’. That partnership is broken,” Francie Gorman.

“There was a strong view from the elected National Council members on the need for a full review of Origin Green as a matter of urgency,” he said.