Sinn Féin has called for the resignation of the chairman of Bord Bia, Larry Murrin, following confirmation his firm sourced some Brazilian beef for the Irish market.
Mr Murrin is chief executive of Dawn Farms.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said his role in Bord Bia, which promotes Irish agri-food, is “completely untenable given that his company was importing Brazilian beef”.
But Taoiseach Micheál Martin told her: “Don’t try and drag down a good organisation.”
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“Bord Bia is one of the better State agencies,” he told the Dáil.
“Let’s not undermine them just for the sake of chasing other people for votes and for popularity.”
In a letter to the Taoiseach, Ms McDonald said Mr Murrin’s role as chief executive of Dawn Farms and as chair of Bord Bia are “incompatible”.
“His approach as CEO of Dawn Farms sits in direct conflict with Bord Bia’s core role to promote Irish food, particularly Irish beef.”
Farming organisations have raised concerns about the issue and Ms McDonald said protests are continuing over the proposed Mercosur trade deal between the EU and a group of South American countries including Brazil.
“It is obvious that confidence in Bord Bia’s independence and leadership is essential,” she told the Dáil. “I believe that for Mr Murrin to continue in the role of chair fundamentally undermines this. The issue now requires swift action from Government, and I urge Mr Murrin to resign as chair of Bord Bia without delay.”
The issue, first reported on agriculture website Agriland, arose when members of the Beef Plan Movement noticed signs outside Subway outlets stating the chain was provided with beef sourced from approved plants in both Europe and Brazil.
Dawn Farms supplies beef to the chain, but the company stated that Brazilian beef accounted for less than 1 per cent of its supply and none of this was supplied to Subway stores in Ireland.
In a statement it said: “Dawn Farms is a leading exporter of added-value cooked protein, working with international and local customers in over 50 markets.
“Irish beef makes up the majority of our supply and, together with the UK and other EU countries, accounted for over 99 per cent of our annual supply in 2025.
“We work with global brands who require deep levels of contingency to ensure absolute security of supply.”
Dawn Farms said all of its raw material is sourced from “approved abattoirs that are supervised by the national competent authorities and are subject to strict oversight by veterinary specialists in the EU directorate-general for health and food safety and cleared for use by the authorities in their own jurisdictions.”
It said it was a “very strong supporter and customer of the Irish beef industry”.
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Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said Mr Murrin was appointed as Bord Bia chairman in April 2024 having been “selected following a competitive process and appointed in accordance with the required corporate governance procedures for State boards”.
“Mr Murrin has ably contributed to those objectives since his appointment.”
He said while the operation of the board of Bord Bia is “a matter for the board itself”, he said he was aware Mr Murrin has engaged with it regarding the issue.
Bord Bia’s board is due to meet on Thursday morning over the matter to “discuss the issues raised” and “I look forward to hearing the outcome of these deliberations”, Mr Heydon said.
Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice later raised the matter with Mr Heydon during a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food, claiming Bord Bia has “lost credibility”.
Mr Heydon responded saying Bord Bia is “an exemplary organisation” that has been “directly involved in the exponential growth in the value returned back to our farmers from the food and drink that’s exported out of this country”.
He said Mr Murrin as chairman has “ably assisted in that remarkable performance”.
Mr Heydon told the committee that Irish food and drink exports were in the region of €8 billion or €9 billion in 2012 and he expects forthcoming figures for 2025 to be “in the region of a record €21 billion”.
