THE COLLAPSE of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks was welcomed by farming groups but described as a serious setback to Irish industry by business organisations last night, writes Laura Slattery.

Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Pádraig Walshe said the Republic had been "spared from a damaging agreement" that he said would have cost €4 billion in losses in the agriculture and food industries.

The IFA president said Tánaiste Mary Coughlan must support the French government in tearing up the EU WTO offer now that the other parties have walked away from the table. Any future trade deal must start with a clean sheet, Mr Walshe added.

The Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers' Association (ICSA) president Malcolm Thompson said the breakdown in negotiations had "prevented the destruction of the Irish farm sector" and that the talks had been "inspired by multinational greed rather than a desire to insure food security, sustainable agriculture or equality between rich and poor".

Jackie Cahill, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) welcomed the collapse of the talks as a "step back from the edge of a cliff".

Fianna Fáil MEP Seán Ó Neachtain, one of seven MEPs on the European Parliament's WTO steering group committee, said EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson had given away too much ground: "What was on the table was unacceptable from a European and from an Irish agricultural standpoint."

Fine Gael agriculture spokesman Michael Creed said no deal was better than a bad deal where Irish farming was concerned.

However, the Irish Exporters' Association (IEA) said the failure of the talks was "a very grave setback" for Irish exports and international trade in general.

"It is a bad blow. We were anticipating that Irish exports would get back to growth on the manufacturing side as a result of a deal," said chief executive John Whelan.

The IEA had expected a €15 billion boost to Irish exports had the talks been successfully completed.

Business group Ibec also expressed disappointment, with its head of trade and international relations Pat Ivory saying that the Republic's small open economy needed the certainty of international trade agreements.

"The absence of a new deal to liberalise trade in services will undoubtedly limit the ability of many Irish companies to expand into new and developing markets."