Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív said yesterday he regretted the failure of Comhairle na Tuaithe, the countryside council, to finalise a countryside recreational strategy.
The strategy is an attempt to resolve the question of access to land by walkers.
Yesterday's meeting was convened in order to finalise a five-year strategy document that could then be presented to the Minister.
However, the meeting adjourned without agreement until the end of the month.
"I regret that Comhairle na Tuaithe was unable to finalise a strategy," Mr Ó Cuív said, "but I am hopeful that they will do so at their next meeting on August 28th."
In the meantime, he said, it should be made clear that "there will be no national scheme of compensation for access, and I have made that point from the beginning."
Mr Ó Cuív added that, while he wanted a strategy to be agreed, there was "fantastic progress" being made on the issue, with "huge agreement" from landowners on a large number of walkways which were already being advertised by Fáilte Ireland.
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) said it was disappointed with the draft strategy plan put to yesterday's meeting.
The association's hill farming committee chairman, Neilie O'Leary, said he was disappointed that the draft strategy had failed to put forward a scheme that would allow landowners to develop walking routes under a Countryside Walkways Initiative.
He noted that the document recommends that "landowners should be given the opportunity to benefit from participation in providing countryside recreation", but said that it lacked detail.
"IFA put forward a comprehensive proposal last summer, but it has been ignored in the draft strategy presented," he said.
"It is clear from discussions with hill walkers, hill-walking organisations and Fáilte Ireland that there is widespread support for financial supports to farmers who create walks," Mr O'Leary added.
He said that Fáilte Ireland's 2005 review of tourism numbers showed that rural areas were losing out to urban areas and "one of the reasons is the lack of progress in developing a hill-walking strategy".
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) said that while most of its recommendations had been incorporated into the document, it did "not go far enough".
Its president, Malcolm Thompson, said: "In particular, ICSA feels that farmers in areas of outstanding natural beauty, whose land has very high levels of footfall from hill walkers, should be compensated.
"We maintain that the value of a house site would be fair compensation."
He added that the ICSA had insisted on total indemnity for farmers against claims from hill walkers who use farmland, and this had been recommended in the draft strategy.