A package to help farmers through the most difficult times in 25 years emerged yesterday during the National Ploughing Championships in Ferns, Co Wexford.
This year's championships then became the battleground for a political row over the aid being offered to farmers whose incomes have been hit by falling prices.
Details of the long-awaited package were announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, in Dublin, an hour after the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, had left the crowded site outside Ferns.
Mr Walsh's statement said £10 million would be made available to farmers who were facing a fodder shortage and he had sought EU Commission approval to continue the sheep headage top-up payments by £2.75 million.
Mr Ahern said at the championships that he had left the Cabinet meeting before the matter was resolved and an announcement would be made later by Mr Walsh.
When the details emerged, the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said he was not surprised that the Taoiseach had not announced details of the package where the farmers would have been able to respond to it.
He said he was bitterly disappointed at the package which did not address the structural decline in farm income and would not be of great benefit for those in need.
He accused the Taoiseach of telling a lie when he said that extending the Family Income Supplement to farmers would cost £70 million. "We were on to the Department of Social Welfare today and they told us it would cost only £30 million and that would be the cost if there was a 100 per cent take-up."
Mr Bruton said there was seldom a 100 per cent take-up in any scheme so it was reasonable to assume that the extension of FIS to farmers would cost some £20 million.
He said his party's spokesman on agriculture, Mr Paul Connaughton, would be leading the Dail debate today on the crisis in the industry and the Government's failure to address it.
The Irish Farmers' Association president, Mr Tom Parlon, was equally scathing about the package. He said he feared the "winter of discontent" he had promised on Dublin's streets a fortnight ago would become a reality.
The promise made by the Taoiseach to him to bring forward headage and other payments was, in the words of a farmer who had spoken to him about it, "like eating tomorrow's dinner today".
He said he would not have to lead Irish farmers on to the streets to protest about the situation: they were ready to go at any time.
Mr Parlon seemed to be under the impression that the Government was also going to introduce a slaughter scheme for ewes, paying £20 for each animal up to a maximum of £1,000.
However, he said this suggestion meant that hill sheep farmers would have to join the Rural Environment Protection Scheme or some of the other environmental schemes and would not be allowed replace their slaughtered stock.
There was a welcome for the package from the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, Mr Frank Allen. He said it had to be welcomed especially if it was properly directed to those who needed it most.