The chairman of Bord Bia has defended his company’s importation of Brazilian beef and insisted he will not step down as chair of the State body.
Larry Murrin, who is also the chief executive and founder of Dawn Farms which has been linked to the imports, appeared before a frequently tetchy Oireachtas Agriculture Committee hearing on Thursday afternoon.
He rejected claims from members of the committee that the limited use of Brazilian beef at Dawn Farms represented a conflict of interest with his role as Bord Bia chairman, or in any way compromised food safety in Ireland. He also insisted the only way forward was through dialogue with farming lobby groups, who have called for his resignation as chairman.
Murrin noted that farming organisations have so far rejected calls for dialogue and he condemned the occupation of the Bord Bia reception area by some members of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) since the issue emerged last month.
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Since it first came to light, he said he had “taken it very seriously” and understood the “frustration being expressed by farmers, and I fully respect their right to voice concern”.
He stressed his role as chairman of Bord Bia was a non-executive position and did not involve day-to-day operations.
Dawn Farms, which he co-founded in 1985, employs 1,400 people. Murrin said it “must be agile and able to activate a supply of beef or any other raw material from different sources”.
He told the committee that “a global food business whose products are consumed by 40 to 50 million consumers per week in the markets we serve must always ensure continuous food supply to our customers, no matter the circumstance”.
The company imported less than 1 per cent of its beef from Brazil in 2025, the committee was told.
“Sourcing a small quantity outside Ireland does not diminish our commitment to Irish beef or farmers. It is, for us, a necessity that underpins our business.”
Murrin said the IFA had alleged he was “fundamentally conflicted” as Bord Bia chairman because Dawn Farms sourced beef from Brazil to meet its contingency planning and supply-chain commitments to customers.
“To be clear, I have never been conflicted in undertaking my role as chair of Bord Bia,” he said. “I have spent my entire working life advocating on behalf of Irish food, drink and agriculture in global markets in the best interests of Ireland. I have spent every week, since assuming the chair of Bord Bia, doing likewise.”
He went on to say it was “completely incorrect to suggest that Dawn Farms promotes products containing non-Irish beef under the Bord Bia Quality Mark”, adding: “Those claims are false and have caused damage.”
He said he had repeatedly “sought dialogue and engagement”.
“At the board meeting, I offered to meet the IFA national council and alternative pathways were proposed. These were rejected in favour of a single demanded outcome . . .I believe respectful dialogue is the only way forward.”
After the hearing, the president of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association, Denis Drennan, called for a “round-table” meeting, saying it was now “more pressing than ever” that the Minister for Agriculture “got both hands around this matter”.
