The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, yesterday told his counterparts from the other European Union states that he would not support any changes to the Common Agricultural Policy which would harm Irish agriculture and the food industry.
He warned that the proposals from the European Commission to cut the link between payments and production would hit economic activity and cause job losses in the food-processing industry.
But the Irish Farmers' Association said after the debate that Mr Walsh had not been critical enough. And the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association called on the Taoiseach to come out publicly against Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler's proposals, as France's President Chirac had done.
Although a majority of the 15 member states criticised the European Commission's reform plans as too radical, Mr Fischler remained defiant after the debate.
"No one has refused to negotiate and everyone has accepted that the Commission's proposals are the basis for negotiations," he said.
"It went quite well," said a Commission official, reflecting on the farm ministers' first response to the reform package.
The heavyweight opposition to Mr Fischler's proposals came from France. But the new French Agriculture Minister, Mr Hervé Gaymard, was restrained in his declaration since these were only the opening rounds of what will be a lengthy struggle.
Mr Gaymard said that the timetable agreed at Berlin in 1999 had to be respected and he accused Mr Fischler of being "over-hasty".
Mr Walsh took a similar line. Farmers and the food industry had "legitimate expectations" of policy stability until 2006, he said.
The market and budgetary situations were not a compelling argument for fundamental change, Mr Walsh argued.
The Commission is proposing that farmers receiving less than €5,000 per year in direct payments should be exempt from reductions. However, Mr Walsh said that this threshold was unrealistically low.
"While I will engage fully in the examination of the proposals in the months ahead, it is right that I should give notice now that the Irish Government will not agree to changes to the Agenda 2000 agreement which will impact negatively on Irish agriculture and the food industry."
IFA president Mr John Dillon said: "There were too many ministers saying this is a good thing. Ministers should be saying there is no mandate for reform."
The Spanish Agriculture Minister, Mr Miguel Cañete, said that he had reacted to the proposals with "perplexity, concern and anxiety" and he accused Mr Fischler of trying to renationalise the CAP. Italy, too, criticised the reforms.
But the countries which have been leading the campaign for an overhaul of the CAP, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Britain, moved to support Mr Fischler.
The Dutch minister, Mr Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, described the Commission's proposals as "courageous and visionary".
Mrs Margaret Beckett, the British minister, said that the package did not go far enough or fast enough, but it provided a sound basis from which to provide for the future.
Mr Fischler rejected a suggestion from Mr Walsh and other farm ministers that the EU should take account of the US Farm Act, which has increased federal government support to American farmers.
The ministers agreed to refer the proposals to a committee of their officials, who will prepare a report for debate at a future council of ministers' meeting, probably in September.