Bord Bia
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-04
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Joanne Collins (SF), Agricultural Panel

It is a partnership, yes. The farmers must have faith and trust in it. Farmers see the chair of Bord Bia import from Brazil, which has been in the news recently with the callbacks and the recalls because we cannot trust it. We have seen this with Mercosur. We cannot trust what comes in from Brazil because it does not have the same controls we have here. The farmers in this country feel like they are being sold out for a cheaper product. It might not be about the price. It is about how they feel. The Minister has to see that, in the round, the farmers in Ireland feel as if they are being sold out because you can get a product that is not up to the same standard, bring it in for cheaper and sell it off as Irish meat. It is very unfair, whether it is being done that way or not.
I have no problem with Bord Bia. It is an absolutely amazing State company and it does unbelievable work abroad for us. Without it, our farmers would not be able to get into the markets they do but, without our farmers, Bord Bia would not be there. We have world class beef because of the standards we have to stick to. The 1% will not make a difference to these farmers. It is about the fact the chair is importing in for his private business while trying to promote Irish beef. There is a conflict.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-04