The Minister said in his script that he believes tonight’s motions sends a clear message to the chairs of every other State board in the country as to how Sinn Féin rolls, and it does indeed. It tells them that accountability is important to Sinn Féin. Even if it does not matter to this Government, it will always matter to us. The failure of the chair of Bord Bia to read the room and resign raises serious questions about accountability. I have said it before and I will say it here again tonight: this Government is allergic to accountability. This latest fiasco is just another example of that. Larry Murrin is the figurehead for quality in Irish food. He and Bord Bia are responsible for ensuring that quality standards for Irish food are upheld. How can he continue in his role when trust has been broken? How can he have any hand, act or part in the importation of Brazilian beef while pretending that he can police and uphold standards for Irish farmers? I do not know an awful lot about farming and I do not pretend to but by Jesus, I know Government hypocrisy when I see it, and that is what is on display here this evening. I am a consumer. I spoke to my constituents over the weekend about this motion and they all said the same thing to me. They said that we need to have confidence and Bord Bia should be the symbol for that. While the Government digs in and defends its man at all costs, that confidence is just not there. Consumers deserve to have confidence in the food they buy. How in the name of God can the man who imports beef that falls well short of the standards of Irish beef have people’s confidence when he is importing Brazilian beef and undermining the standards that he is telling all the others in the farming community they must uphold? This is, again, another lesson learnt from this Government - it is, “Do as I say but not as I do”. If Larry Murrin understood the damage that this scandal has caused to Irish farmers, he would do the right thing and resign, but he is digging in so the Minister has to do his job. Larry Murrin’s position is untenable. He must go. The Minister must do the right thing and remove him.

Sentiment score: 0.09