Farmers protest outside Agriculture Minister’s constituency office

Farmers have taken part in a protest outside Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon’s constituency office in Co Kildare.

The action by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) in Newbridge on Saturday afternoon is part of a dispute with Bord Bia, the state agency charged with promoting and enforcing standards in Irish food.

The IFA said it has been protesting at Bord Bia’s offices since January 26, with five people occupying the lobby of the building since February 3.

Bord Bia chairman Larry Murrin has faced calls to step down after revelations that his company Dawn Farm Foods sourced “less than 1%” of its beef from Brazil last year for contingency planning in a contract.

He appeared before a committee earlier this month and said security of supply agreements with major international customers requires provisions for food crises, disease outbreaks and supply issues.

Mr Murrin said that while his company mostly buys from Irish farmers, he needed to demonstrate that Ireland can import beef from somewhere else as part of contingency planning.

He said allegations of a conflict of interest are “false” and “driven” by social media.

Those who participated in Saturday’s protest carried placards reading “Double standards” and “Minister, get it sorted”.