Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Pearse Doherty (SF), Donegal

The legislation is very clear. The Minister has the power to remove the chair. Indeed, the board on its own does not have that power. It needs the consent of the Minister. There are a number of facts that are undisputable.
The chair of Bord Bia, the State agency responsible for promoting Irish food at the highest international standards, is also the director of a company that is importing Brazilian beef. Another fact is that Brazilian beef had to be recalled just in the past months from Irish shelves. Another fact is that Brazilian beef that was in Ireland in the past number of months had hormones that are banned in the European Union. The other fact is the chair of that company, who acknowledges that his company imports Brazilian beef for the Irish market, is the chair appointed by the Government as head of Bord Bia.
The issue here is there has to be credibility, good faith and accountability. With all the facts we know now, which are undisputed even by the chair himself, does the Tánaiste have confidence in him to continue as chair of Bord Bia when he acknowledges his company is importing beef from a region that does not live up to the same standards as Irish farmers the length and breadth of this State are required to and, if they do not comply with those standards, are heavily penalised for doing so?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22