The increase in 2025 beef imports to 40,000t has been labelled as “shocking and worrying” by Aontú TD Paul Lawless.

The vast majority of this beef came from the UK, from which Ireland imported just under 37,000t in 2025. A further 2,686t came from the next seven highest exporting countries to Ireland, all of which were EU member states.

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Deputy Lawless said that similarly concerning was a rise in the volume of beef imports from Brazil last year.

“We can see from the figures that in 2016, some 22t of beef was brought into Ireland from Brazil,” the Mayo TD said.

“Last year, the figure stood at 172t, 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 defence of Larry Murrin.”

Deputy Lawless claimed that Government has been “rude and cold towards farmers” over recent months, as he accused Government leaders of treating their concerns with the Bord Bia chair with “contempt”.

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

'Awful betrayal'

“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.

“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."

He called for the release of further details on the over 500t of Brazilian beef that have been imported into the country over the past decade.

He said that the details of food safety testing, labelling and where the product was sold should be made public.

The increase in beef headed to Ireland from Brazil last year came around the same time that Brazil was found not have adequately responded to EU demands for better hormone beef controls.

These shortcomings included European Commission auditors finding out in October that Brazil had been exporting heifer and cow beef to EU after it had said it would suspend these exports amid hormone fears, as well as the uncovering that farms to produce prescriptions for growth promoting hormones.