Minister & Bord Bia Must Give Proper Consideration to IFA Proposal

IFA President Francie Gorman said Bord Bia must consider the proposal from IFA to suspend the ongoing protest if the Chair ‘stepped aside’ to allow for a comprehensive review of Bord Bia under seven strands. 

“After the board meeting last week, we decided to put this written proposal to the board of Bord Bia. We have yet to receive any substantive reply and I note the letter has been provided to a media outlet,” he said.

“I requested that the board should meet without the Chair, which is consistent with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State bodies. This has not happened to date.”

“The reality is that all the talk from the Minister and all the advertisements from the Bord Bia management about wanting dialogue is only empty rhetoric. They have proposed nothing except to stand by their man,” he said. 

“We made a similar suggestion at the Joint Oireachtas Committee 11 days ago and at the talks with DAFM last Friday week. I referenced this again at our meeting in Claremorris on Thursday night, yet it was not entertained by the Minister.”

“The Minister and Larry Murrin have not moved one inch since it emerged that the Chair is importing Brazilian beef and Brazilian poultry and that his company is not part of any Bord Bia QA scheme,” he said.

“There was a meeting of the board last Wednesday and we responded with this proposal to try and achieve a breakthrough. The Board of Bord Bia must be given an opportunity to consider it without the Chair being present,” he said.