2026-07-09

5. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has engaged with the board of Bord Bia in relation to the report on the review of governance procedures at Bord Bia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52241/26]

What engagement has the Minister had with Bord Bia in relation to the report on the review of governance procedures in that organisation? Farmers and farmer organisations are still saying very clearly that this report is not adequate, that farmers do not have confidence in the chair of Bord Bia and that as long as he remains there, they will find it very difficult to have confidence in Bord Bia as an organisation that implements the quality assurance scheme. How can we finally resolve this ongoing situation?

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue, which was discussed many times in this House earlier in the year. I welcome the report following the completion of the independent governance review into the board of Bord Bia. My Department met with Governance Ireland, which carried out the independent review, and the board of Bord Bia on the day the report was published to discuss its findings and recommendations. The review made 22 recommendations, as the Deputy will be aware, many of which were aimed at strengthening Bord Bia’s governance framework, identified through normal working practices and beyond. The recommendations for improvement in the report are directed at governance processes generally and board members’ understanding of these processes, and not at the chair or any board member personally. Following the publication of the report, I wrote to the chairperson of the board on 22 June 2026, requesting that the board develop a timely and effective action plan to address the recommendations in the report, and I will be seeking regular updates on its progress. I want to see these recommendations implemented and progressed. I am confident that the implementation of the recommendations from this independent review will help to further strengthen the board of Bord Bia in fulfilling its important mandate. From the chair's perspective, the report found that, in the view of the board members, he chairs the organisation very positively. It was noted that he provides clear leadership of the board and maintains an appropriate focus on governance and strategy. Bord Bia is doing extremely important work on farmers' behalf. The other element that came out of this issue over the last six months has been the establishment of the Bord Bia farmers forum, which had its first meeting last Monday week. One hundred quality-assured farmers were in a room discussing, debating and listening, in a two-way fashion, to Bord Bia officials regarding Origin Green and quality assurance, which delivers so much for them. All the feedback I got from that meeting, from the farmers who were at it and others, was that it was a very positive event. It is an addition to farmers' two-way engagement with Bord Bia around quality assurance, which is very much in farmers' interest.

I appreciate all that and the farmers forum is a positive advancement on things, but we are back to the problem at the very core of this issue, which is that the chair of Bord Bia has been using imported beef from Brazil as part of his mix to sell product. This is at the same time that Irish farmers, Irish consumers and European consumers have serious difficulties with that product. The European Commission has gone so far as to ban the importation of Brazilian beef, notwithstanding the Mercosur trade agreement, and it did that because the product simply cannot meet the standards. That huge problem remains. The report does not deal with that, and that is the difficulty that farmers have here. The report has the 22 recommendations in regard to governance, but this is not actually about the governance. That was very clear from the beginning. The problem is that the chair of the organisation that is marketing Irish food globally is also using a product that flies in the face of the quality standards we have in Ireland and, indeed, he was not even a member of Origin Green.

The issues in this area have been well aired, and I am on the record of the House as having clearly outlined the facts as they are. I am not going to rehash them, but the Deputy talks about things at the heart of the matter. I will tell him what is at the heart of the matter. It is the price that farmers get for their beef, lamb, dairy produce and beyond. It is about how we can best, as a country that exports 90% of the food and drink we produce, give the best income back to our farmers. We will discuss a range of topics here over the next hour and a half including generational renewal, supporting the sustainable income of our farmers and more. The work of Bord Bia and Origin Green is integral to that. That is what matters to farmers. We see the income volatility across our areas. We see Teagasc's farm survey reports of exceptional prices and income for most sectors last year. We saw the pressure on beef finishers at the start of this year. We now see this price strengthening and coming back great. This is directly linked to international markets. I am happy to talk about the pressure we are coming under in the British market, which is our key export market for beef and more. These are the things that matter.

Agreed.

The work of Origin Green and Bord Bia is integral to that.

Of course.

The work of the governance review has helped to strengthen that position and that work can continue.

I am not in dispute with the Minister in that respect. Nobody is. Nobody is saying that is not the situation. The problem is that credibility and authenticity are also central to people’s confidence and the chair of Bord Bia has lost that confidence because of the situation whereby his companies are not part of Origin Green, a programme that the board he chairs was saying all companies that produce food in Ireland should be part of. It is part of the system we are trying to put in place, yet his company was not part of it. Furthermore, his company was using beef imported from Brazil, which the European Commission is now saying will not even be allowed into Europe from 1 September. The argument that the chair had was that he could not market his product if he did not use Brazilian beef. Now he will not be able to use Brazilian beef because it is going to be banned. What is going to do now, not market any of the product? Nobody believed that story, and that is the problem. It is about the authenticity of the person at the head of Bord Bia. It is not about the work that Bord Bia does, and the more the Minister keeps referring to the work Bord Bia does, how it is managing, how it is working and the good work it is doing for Irish farmers and Irish agriculture, the more he is avoiding the central point.

I am not.

You are.

I am at the heart of the central point that matters to farmers, which is the income from their produce and the structures we have in place as a State to support them and get the best return for our market value.

Deal with the point I made.

How does the Deputy think we doubled the value of Irish farmers' exports and produce, from about €10 billion in 2010 to €20.8 billion last year? We did that through the work of Origin Green, the work of our farmers and others, and the work of Bord Bia in promoting and supporting Irish agrifood businesses that are selling Irish farmers' produce and giving that best possible price return to our farmers. We also have to look at the threats in the future. My job is not just to sit here and have Deputy Kenny tell me what the priorities are, with which I disagree. He tells me that confidence is gone, whereas the report says the vast majority of the board are very satisfied with the chair's position.

The report did not look at what it was meant to look at.

I also have to look at the threats here, which include the UK post Brexit, the deals it has done with Australia and New Zealand and the price pressure that is going to put on our market sales in a country where over 50% of our beef goes. The reason we have such a strong and dominant position in the British market-----

So, the confidence of farmers does not matter.

-----is the equivalence in food standards with the Red Tractor quality assurance scheme. I will not stand for us drifting away from that and allowing the undermining of our quality assurance scheme, which has served us so well. I will not let that happen on my watch.