ICMSA “left with no alternative” but to request departure of Bord Bia Chairperson

The President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, has confirmed that he supported a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the Chairperson of Bord Bia and it is now up to Minister Heydon to restore farmer confidence in the semi-state.

Mr. Drennan said that the ability of Bord Bia to operate was wholly dependent on its credibility with farmers and that credibility had been severely damaged by the revelations around imported Brazilian beef and it was very specifically an issue that Bord Bia needed to address in the context of the sustainability schemes it operated.

“That’s at the heart of farmer anger here and it’s completely justified”, said Mr. Drennan.

Mr. Drennan said that it was simply impossible to convince farmers that the degree of traceability and standards that Bord Bia insisted upon in their day-to-day audits of Irish farmers could be squared with the import of Brazilian beef.

He said that if a reasonable and plausible explanation had, at any stage, been publicly released by Bord Bia in the run-up to today’s board meeting, then farmer anger might have been defused and a different conclusion might have been possible. But no such explanation was offered, and farmers had been left to make up their minds.

Mr. Drennan said that ICMSA was therefore left with no alternative but to request the Chairpersons departure.

Ends     22 January 2026

Denis Drennan, 086-8389401

President, ICMSA

Or

Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office