The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, has said it would be "inappropriate" for him to become directly involved in the three week dispute between meat plants and beef farmers.
On Tuesday the Labour Party spokesman on agriculture, Mr Jack Wall, had called on the Minister to intervene in the dispute, which has seen major disruption at the State's export meat plants.
The Irish Farmer's Association has been protesting every weekend at selected plants over the prices they are being paid for their cattle, causing the plants to close down for the duration of the dispute.
Last weekend, the IFA targeted the Kepak group and extended the duration of the protest from 24 to 48 hours. The company's three plants closed their cattle killing lines for the duration.
In Athlone yesterday, the Minister responded to Mr Wall's call by calling for an end to the dispute, which he said was causing him concern. "I am very concerned about any disruption to the supply line to our vital markets because that it not in the best interests of the industry," he said.
"I do not set prices and it would be inappropriate for me to become directly involved," he said.
"My job is to set the policy parameters to seek by every political and diplomatic initiative to get access and regain access to the various markets, and that I have done," he said.
He added that his role was a very specific one and it was not the role of the Minister of the day to get directly involved in the dispute.
"I call on the producers and processors to seek to find a resolution to this particular problem," he said.
Mr Walsh said there were well established lines of contact between the processors and the producers and they should now use them.
He said he had arranged that producers be paid 80 per cent of their cattle premia in advance this year and in the next ten days something over €500 million would be paid from Brussels.
Mr Walsh said the single greatest disappointed he had had as Minister was that virtually all the co-operatives, apart from Dairygold, had got out of beef processing.
"I am disappointed with that and I believe it is retrograde," he said.