The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, expressed deep satisfaction with the agricultural package worked out yesterday, saying that it was a major achievement to reach Ireland's main goal, ensuring that the CAP reform deal negotiated in Brussels should not be rolled back.
Attempts to introduce a degressivity concept in direct payments - a gradual reduction over the length of the deal - had been successfully resisted by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. Had this been introduced, Mr Walsh said, Irish farmers could have lost up to £175 million over the next seven years.
The Irish Farmers' Association president, Mr Tom Parlon, said in Berlin the farm price package was an improvement on the deal worked out in Brussels two weeks ago. The overall agreement was all that could have been achieved under the circumstances, and the successful resistance to the introduction of degressivity was a significant achievement, he said.
He and the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, Mr Frank Allen, welcomed the delay in introducing the dairy reforms until 2005/6.
Mr Parlon said that the cereal reforms agreed in Berlin left the door open for further negotiation and Mr Allen said that the decisions taken on beef also appeared more positive.
Mr John Tyrell, the general director of ICOS, the umbrella body for the co-operative movement, also welcomed the Berlin decisions and said they were a further improvement on the Brussels deal.
However, he expressed concern on the proposal to introduce price cuts and compensation in "a big bang approach in 2005 rather than on a phased basis".
Meanwhile, the monthly BSE figures have shown a sharp increase, with 11 cases diagnosed by Department of Agriculture vets in March.
The cases were found in herds in Monaghan, (three) Wexford (two), Wicklow (two) and single cases in herds in Westmeath, Louth, Kilkenny and Cavan. The animals were aged from five to nine years.
The increase can be partially explained by the fact that two cases were in so-called "cohort" animals raised with animals diagnosed earlier.
However, there were only four cases of the disease diagnosed in March of last year, and figures for the first quarter of last year were lower than this year by six cases.
PA adds: Britain's National Farmers' Union described the deal worked out at Berlin as "deeply disappointing".
"The original agreement made by farm ministers has been partially unpicked and is now considerably worse," said its president, Mr Ben Gill. "British farmers will pay a heavy price for a deal which seems to have been made to allow some governments to claim a symbolic victory."