The Irish Farmers' Association was last night claiming victory over the meat plants as the majority of factories throughout the State conceded farmer demands for a basic price of 90p a pound for beef. The dispute had kept meat plants shut for 11 days.
However, one major group, Dawn Meats, has not yet concluded a deal with the organisation.
The breakthrough came when the Goodman-owned AIBP plant in Bandon, Co Cork, agreed the baseline figures following negotiations.
A second Goodman plant, at Rathkeale, Co Limerick, also reached an agreement with the farmers late yesterday, according to an AIBP spokesman who said negotiations at other Goodman-owned plants would continue tonight and tomorrow.
An agreement was also concluded with another large group, Kepak, which has plants in Meath and Roscommon.
But it emerged that the Dawn Group, with five major plants, had not concluded deals with the picketing farmers at its plants in Waterford, Cork, and Mayo. Workers at several of the plants have voted to strike if they are not compensated for losses incurred during the farmers' blockade. This has increased pressure on the company to reach a settlement. Pickets were continuing yesterday at the company's plants in south Kilkenny and Waterford, as well as the AIBP plant in Ferrybank, Waterford.
Yesterday, local agreements were concluded with smaller operators who agreed to pay the price sought by Mr Tom Parlon, the former president of the Irish Farmers' Association. The agreements were being co-ordinated at the IFA headquarters in Bluebell, Dublin, by Mr Kevin Kinsella, the IFA's livestock expert.
Last night, Mr Parlon, who expects to be re-elected president of the association, said he was very pleased at the way local negotiations were going. He expected that most of the industry would return to normal on Monday.
He added that where agreements had been concluded, plants had agreed to pay 90p a pound for ordinary grade O animals, 92p to 94p for better type animals in the R grade and 94p to 96p for top quality U grade beasts.
Mr Parlon said the increases would mean that farmers would receive an extra £40 to £50 per head for their animals.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, last night said substantial progress had been made in the discussions, and while the substantive issue had not yet been fully resolved, other major issues were addressed.
These, he said, included price transparency, the conditions of trade and customer relations between factories and suppliers. These were important issues in building trust between the parties.
Mr Walsh said the Government's decision to appoint a committee to examine allegations of anti-competitive practices within the industry was also highly significant and was the most efficient and expeditious way to deal with the matter.
He said now that the framework had emerged to bring the dispute to an end, the focus throughout the sector should centre on an immediate return to work and on a concerted effort to realise the objectives set out in the Beef Task Force report.
Among these, he said, was the need to improve the overall quality of the cattle which Ireland produced and the strengthening of our position within the high-value EU retail markets.
This was ultimately the best long-term method of maximising the incomes of all those working in the sector and ensuring the contribution of one of our most important industries to the economy as a whole, he added.