Ireland increases Brazilian beef imports by 800% as food board scandal continues

New figures show that the Republic of Ireland has increased its imports of Brazilian beef by 800% over the past 10 years.

Last year, Ireland imported a total of 40,000 tonnes of beef from all over the world, which is higher than the previous 10 years. The amount of beef imported into Ireland from Brazil last year also reached a record high.

The news comes at a time when Irish farmers are protesting about the Mercosur Deal which would allow South American countries to export up to 99,000 tonnes of beef into the European Union.

And, to add further insult to the farmers, the chairman of Bord Bia, which is the Irish government sponsored Food Board promoting Irish beef to the world, has been importing his own supply of Brazilian beef via his meat company.

As well as being the chair of Bord Bia, Larry Mullin runs Dawn Farm Foods, which was importing Brazilian beef into Ireland. There have been calls from farmers and farmers groups for Mr Mullin to be removed from the Bord Bia post.

MURRIN REMOVAL APPROVED

Recently, Mayo County Council has unanimously approved a motion calling for the removal of Murrin as chair of Bord Bia, the 13th county council to do so, and has written to the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon, urging him to intervene.

The Brazilian beef figures were releases to Paul Lawless, who is a TD for the Aontu Party in the Irish government.

Deputy Lawless said, “The huge increase in the amount of beef imported into Ireland is shocking and worrying. We can see from the figures that in 2016 some 22 tonnes of beef was brought into Ireland from Brazil.

“Last year the figure stood at 172 tonnes, representing an 800% increase in the amount of beef imported from Brazil over the past decade.

“The scandal with Bord Bia has not been adequately addressed, the government have shown no remorse for their lack of lobbying to oppose Mercosur or for their constant defense of Larry Murrin,” he said.

FULL TRANSPARENCY

Recognizing the pressure Irish farmers are under, and the need for full transparency when it comes to beef imports into Ireland, Deputy Lawless said Irish farmers felt “betrayed” regarding the Bord Bia “scandal.”

Deputy Lawless said, “This government has been rude and cold towards farmers over the past few months. I was proud to travel to Strasbourg with Aontu to assist farmers in lobbying MEPs to vote to send Mercosur to the European Court.

“We won that vote by a small margin, but the government, supposedly against the deal, was nowhere to be seen in that campaign and indeed a number of government party MEPs voted against farmers on that day.

“Then this scandal broke in relation to Brazilian beef being brought into the country by the chair of Bord Bia, the entity responsible for promoting Irish beef.

“Beef farmers in this country were already in a vulnerable position, with the knowledge that our beef market in Europe was under threat.

“To learn then that beef was entering the Irish market, and that some of it was being brought in by Larry Murrin represented the most awful betrayal.

“The Minister and government as a whole do not seem to comprehend these facts. They have not apologized to farmers nor have they even said they understand why farmers are angry.

“They’ve treated farmers with contempt and defended Murrin to the tilt. What the statistics released to me show is that the quantity of Brazilian beef entering even our own Irish market is increasing rapidly each year.

“What effect will Mercosur have on even the Irish beef market in Ireland? I have major questions about this, in particular about the fact that a total of 5,345 tonnes of beef was imported into Ireland in the past 10 years from countries, the names of which the minister is refusing to release to me.

“In relation to the more than 500 tonnes of beef imported here from Brazil since 2016 I want to know where it was sold, what tests was it put through to ensure it was safe, and what labeling was applied to the packages in which it was sold, and what percentage of it was imported by Larry Murrin’s company during that period,” he said.