The deal between the Minister for Agriculture, the two main farm organisations and the Irish meat industry is expected to lead to an increase in cattle prices next week.
The agreement, reached yesterday, also ended the two-day occupation of the Department of Agriculture lobby by the Irish Farmers' Association, which had said its members would not leave until they were guaranteed an EU price increase would be passed on to them by the meat plants.
The Irish meat plants, which had been severely criticised by both the Department and the farmers, yesterday promised to pay 80.7p per lb to farmers for quality beef from Monday next.
That price increase will allow them tender for a special EU intervention contract due in a fortnight's time at a price not lower than 82p per lb. This is 7p higher than what was on offer yesterday.
The deal was achieved at a meeting chaired by the Minister, Mr Walsh, and attended by an Irish Meat Association delegation led by Mr Larry Goodman, the IFA delegation led by Mr Tom Parlon and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, represented by Mr Pat O'Rourke.
The occupation was designed to highlight the difficulties facing beef producers, who had seen prices fall to a 25-year low because of the collapse of the Russian beef market.
The farmers sought an amendment to EU beef intervention rules to help survive a market with prices in freefall.
This led to intensive lobbying by the Minister in Brussels, where it was agreed to amend the EU intervention rules to allow more and heavier cattle into the system to remove surplus beef from the market and stabilise prices.
The special deal is expected to take 30,000 tonnes of beef into the system before the year's end and ensures 40 per cent of Irish cattle now qualify for the scheme.
All parties to the agreement said the deal should help improve prices. Farmers and the Department expected prices may even increase when the live trade to Libya and Iraq eventually reopens.
The Minister said it reflected a partnership approach and while the beef crisis was not yet resolved, prices should stabilise.