The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Vintner's Federation of Ireland (VFI) have agreed a new tariff which will apply to the collection of royalty charges from publicans outside Dublin.

The new tariff which will be introduced later this month, will bring to an end the ongoing dispute between IMRO and the VFI, which represents 5,000 publicans who use copyright music in pubs throughout Ireland.

The agreement also means that all of the bodies representing the main music users in Ireland have now agreed tariffs with IMRO, according to a statement issued by IMRO last night.

It said negotiations are ongoing between the parties and these are expected to result in the withdrawal and settlement of the VFI/ IMRO legal cases currently before the District Court, Circuit Court and the High Court. The agreement is conditional on the cases being withdrawn. The agreement includes the setting up of an arbitration board. An independent chairman will be appointed and the aim is that future disputes between IMRO and individual publicans will be resolved without the need for legal proceedings.