IFA seeks 'urgent meeting' with minister on Bord Bia review
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman is seeking an urgent meeting with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon to discuss the Bord Bia governance review.
The move follows a briefing at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for Bord Bia directors today (Friday, June 12) on the main findings of the report carried out by Governance Ireland.
The review, commissioned by DAFM, was part of the agreement that saw a rolling protest by the IFA suspended at Bord Bia headquarters earlier this year.
The IFA had called for the resignation or removal of the chair of Bord Bia, Larry Murrin following confirmation that Murrin's company, Dawn Farm Foods, sourced 1% of its beef supply from Brazil in 2025.
Bord Bia
The review came to the overall assessment that the Bord Bia board is "very capable, engaged and committed, with a strong governance foundation with solid structures and processes".
The report said the survey results and interview feedback of board members and senior Bord Bia executives indicate that the chair is "viewed as providing clear leadership, maintaining appropriate focus on governance and strategy".
"The vast majority of board members were generally very positive about the chair’s performance," the review said.
The review identifies some weaknesses, particularly in relation to the need for clarity on procedures to deal with actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest and clarity on the role of board members.
Governance Ireland acknowledged the review "did not entail a full audit of policies, systems, or processes", adding that "conclusions and recommendations should be interpreted in this light".
IFA
The review includes a list of 22 recommendations with suggested priority levels.
The report includes recommendations on the board's role and collective effectiveness; conflicts of interest; crisis management and current oversight structures in relation to the overall strategy of Bord Bia and the Origin Green and Quality Assurance Programmes.
IFA president Francie Gorman said "there are number of very important recommendations in this review, which are a clear acknowledgment that significant change is needed".
"However, the report did not deal with a number of wider issues as they were deemed to be outside the scope of the governance review. This is acknowledged in the review itself.
“Only board members and senior Bord Bia senior staff were interviewed for the review.
"It only looked at structures and certain practices - it did not consider the issues that caused this dispute," he said.
"There are a number of matters arising from the report and others that are not dealt with in the report that I want to discuss directly with the minister and I have sought an urgent meeting with him.
"IFA will be studying the report in great detail and discussing it with our national officers and our national council before we give a more comprehensive response," Gorman added.
