The first of the farmer blockades which had been maintained outside 40 meat plants for the last 10 days were being removed last night as the former president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr Tom Parlon, predicted more plants will agree to the 90p per lb demand for beef.
Mr Parlon, who resigned on Monday over the IFA's decision to obey a High Court order outlawing the blockades, revealed last night that already they had been removed from two factories, Carrigan's Plant in Co Donegal and Duffy Meats in Gort, Co Galway.
These plants had negotiated locally with farmers who were picketing them and had agreed to pay 90p a pound for ordinary type cattle, the issue at the kernel of the dispute.
Mr Parlon, who will be seeking re-election as president of the IFA as soon as possible, revealed that 30 other plants were in negotiation with the farmers on upping the price to 90p. He said the decision to remove the blockades would be taken by the local farmers.
But while the IFA was claiming last night that the cartel, which it alleged had been operated by the factories, had been broken, no negotiations have taken place with the three large processors.
Mr Larry Goodman's AIBP Group, Dawn Meats and Kepak control 52 per cent of the total beef market which is worth £1 billion annually.
Mr Parlon said some factories were insisting on central negotiations on raising the price from that of 87.5p offered and rejected by the IFA and Mr Parlon during marathon discussions on Wednesday night/yesterday.
These negotiations broke down hours before the blockade was raised again in the High Court, where Mr Justice O'Donovan lifted injunctions on picketing which he had granted to the Irish Meat Association on Monday last.
The orders were lifted at the request of the IMA which said it hoped that "sanity would break out and agreement would be reached with the farmers".
The judge removed all the orders granted against the IFA and also lifted the order appointing a sequestrator over the assets of the IFA, which he had fined £500,000 for breaches of the orders on Monday and had threatened with fines of £500,000 a day.
A spokesman for the IMA confirmed last night that it was aware that negotiations were ongoing between some plants and farmers who were blockading them.
He said the IMA was seeking a speedy and fair resolution to the dispute and the return of normality to the business, which was being badly hit by the inability to operate.
Meanwhile, some meat plants have asked SIPTU to convene meetings to discuss compensation for workers who were laid off because of blockades. Kepak, which operates plants at Clonee in Co Dublin and Watergrasshill in Co Cork, has already undertaken to compensate its workers, according to SIPTU regional secretary Mr Jack O'Connor.
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine, after discussing the dispute yesterday, said it would ask representatives of the Competition Authority to appear before it and explain why it has failed to act on alleged beef price-fixing. The committee had heard strong criticism of the authority from TDs, senators and farming organisations.