Minister’s approach not geared to re-building farmer confidence in Bord Bia - IFA

IFA President Francie Gorman said farmers who had protested at Bord Bia since January would have been astonished to hear Minister Martin Heydon pre-determine the outcome of the "so-called" independent review.

The Minister was speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh as was the IFA President.

“The ink isn’t dry on the terms of reference for the expert governance review and already the Minister has decided to announce the outcome,” he said.

“IFA proposed that the review should be overseen by a three-person steering group, which would have credibility with farmers. This must be put in place as farmers won’t buy a rush job from somebody handpicked by the Minister,” he said.

“We need due process in this review. The future of Bord Bia is at stake,” he added.

IFA also takes issue with comments by the Minister about the protest in Newbridge recently.

“There were hundreds of tractors and thousands of people trying fit into a small area outside the Minister’s office. We co-operated fully with the Gardaí on the day, as acknowledged by them. Unfortunately, two signs were damaged. We contacted the Minister’s office on Saturday evening immediately after the protest to say we would cover the cost of replacing them,” he said.

“Throughout this 36-day protest farmers have behaved with dignity. Five farmers spent 28 days occupying the Bord Bia office with others outside 24 hours a day, while thousands attended meetings and protests. These are genuine hard-working people. I am proud of our officers, our members and our staff,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, TD, last week welcomed the agreement reached at a board meeting of Bord Bia, which was called to discuss the current impasse.

Minister Heydon said: “I am pleased that my proposal for an independent governance review of the board of Bord Bia has been accepted and that the ongoing protest has been stood down. 

"Larry Murrin will remain as chair of Bord Bia and as agreed by the board and the chair in the interests of moving forward, during the period of the review scheduled board meetings will be facilitated by another current board member.

“Bord Bia are also progressing a new Farmers Forum which will provide an opportunity for renewed engagement between farmers and Bord Bia. It is now time to come together to support the essential work of Bord Bia, which delivers important benefits for farmers and the agri-food sector as a whole.”