Gardaí investigating damage to Minister's signs during IFA protest in Kildare 

GARDAÍ are examining a complaint submitted by Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon concerning his constituency office in Newbridge, following a protest held outside the office over the weekend.

The complaint relates to the damage and removal of two signs outside the office on Moorefield Road on Saturday, February 28.

A spokesperson for the minister said the signs, which displayed the minister’s image and contact details, were not only damaged but ripped from the wall and taken away.

The spokesperson said: “The signs were ripped off the wall and were taken away, they were stolen. So there’s a criminal investigation into that.” 

The development follows a protest staged outside Minister Heydon’s office by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) amid an ongoing dispute involving Bord Bia Chair Larry Murrin.

Reports indicate that around 1,500 farmers attended on foot, accompanied by a convoy of approximately 300 vehicles.

The IFA is calling for Mr Murrin to step down as Bord Bia chair after it emerged that his company, Dawn Farm Foods, has been importing beef and poultry from Brazil.

The organisation argues that farmer confidence in Bord Bia cannot be restored while he remains in the role and has put forward a proposed framework aimed at resolving the dispute.

The association acknowledged that two signs outside the office were removed during the demonstration, and stated: “We are aware that two signs outside the Minister’s office were damaged during Saturday's protest. We contacted his office that evening to make them aware of this and to say we would replace them.” Locals reported that several farmers gathered in Crookstown before Saturday’s protest, passing by Minister Heydon’s home, where he lives with his wife and four young children.

 In response, the IFA said the protest was confined to the minister’s office only and that farmers “converged at various points along the routes.” A spokesperson for the minister described the incident as “very disappointing,” claiming it followed rhetoric from IFA leadership that had “whipped up the crowd needlessly.” They continued: “It's a scenario where the IFA leadership haven't explained the various different details of the various different offers that have been given to the IFA and the actual trade deal [Mercosur] that caused all this in the first place.” Separately, the IFA has been conducting a rolling protest at Bord Bia’s offices on Pembroke Road in Dublin since January 26, with five farmers remaining inside the building for several weeks. The association has indicated the action will continue until Mr Murrin resigns or is removed as chair of the Irish Food Board.

The association put a proposal to Bord Bia on Monday, March 2, that it would suspend its protest if Mr Murrin “stepped aside” to allow for a “comprehensive review of Bord Bia under seven strands.” IFA President Francie Gorman said: “I requested that the board should meet without the Chair, which is consistent with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State bodies. This has not happened to date. 

“The reality is that all the talk from the Minister and all the advertisements from the Bord Bia management about wanting dialogue is only empty rhetoric. They have proposed nothing except to stand by their man,” he said.