The next meeting of the beef taskforce will take place on Monday, January 9, with Irish and UK retailers invited to participate to discuss market trends and requirements, specifically bonus criteria currently applied to Irish beef cattle prices.

Farmers are due to get a higher price for their beef, following two protests on the issue.

Today’s protest by farmers outside a Lidl distribution centre has been slammed as “a completely unjustified stunt”.

Latest: The Irish Farmers' Association says protests will continue until there's a significant increase in the price of beef.

Retailer Aldi has said it is “extremely disappointed” that farmers have protested at its distribution centre in Co Kildare - but demonstrators have warned the picket is the first of many to come.

Meat Industry Ireland says there are “green shoots” in the beef market, and these should hopefully feed through in terms of positive price developments soon.

The Taoiseach says he's keen to see the Beef Taskforce get to work.

The Minister for Agriculture says the actions of farmers who disrupted this weeks beef taskforce meeting were "totally unacceptable."

Tensions between beef farmers and meat processors continued today, when talks were abandoned amid angry scenes at the Department of Agriculture.

A scuffle has broken out between beef farmers and the boss of Meat Industry Ireland outside the Department of Agriculture in Dublin.

The organisation representing meat processors has confirmed that its members will drop legal threats against beef farmers after months of factory protests came to an end on Sunday.

Picketing by beef farmers has ended across the country.

Processors have seen that protesters won’t listen to the established farmer organisations, and may feel that closure or recourse to the law are the only ways to proceed

It comes after farming organisations widely supported recommendations made at the weekend following talks between all sides.

The Minister for Agriculture has written an open letter pleading with protesting beef farmers to stop their blockades at some meat factories.

Meat industry representatives say that they may look for Government support if blockades continue to stall beef production at factories across the country.

“This is the wrong position to be in so close to Brexit,” he told RTÉ radio’s News at One.

Gerard Gough participated in the talks convened by the Minister for Agriculture at the weekend and brought the resultant deal to picketing farmers in Ballyhaunis.

Farmers will see an immediate increase in the price they receive for their cattle following a deal with meat producers.

Meat Industry Ireland, which pulled out of planned discussions last Monday, says it will attend the meeting at the Department of Agriculture in Dublin.

All sides in the beef dispute have been invited to the table for talks this evening.

The president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), Joe Healy has called on Meat Industry Ireland to "get down off their high horse" and return to talks.

Thousands of jobs in the meat industry could be lost due to the ongoing impasse between protesting farmers and processors.

Meat Industry Ireland is claiming that thousands of staff have been temporarily laid off at meat processing plants as the beef price dispute rumbles on.

The head of Meat Industry Ireland has not ruled out further court injunctions against protestors at meat processing plants.

The Agriculture Minister is urging Meat Industry Ireland to reflect on their decision to withdraw from beef talks.

Fears that the beef crisis may become entrenched have intensified after Meat Industry Ireland pulled out of planned talks.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has been accused of ignoring farmers and exacerbating the beef crisis.

Farmer's group, Beef Plan Movement says the "peaceful protests" will begin over the coming days, with stores such as Tesco, Dunnes and SuperValue among those likely to be picketed.

The Irish Farmers Association President says he's "hopeful" fresh talks aimed at resolving the beef dispute will end the crisis.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, Irish beef would still have a good degree of access to the UK, says the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in the UK.

Meat processors continued legal efforts to stop protests at their facilities, with Meat Industry Ireland admitting that some export markets have not be served in recent days due to the blockages at processing facilities.

Meat Industry Ireland says it is willing to resume discussions with farmers once blockades at its processing facilities are lifted.

Farmers protesting outside a meat factory in County Roscommon have vowed not to let any produce or vehicles leave the site as part of their ongoing demonstration.

Beef farmers protesting at the ABP meat-processing plant in Bandon have agreed a "one-day" deal to allow a Chinese delegation to visit the facility on Monday.

SIPTU organiser Jason Palmer has said that jailing farmers who are protesting outside meat processing plants will not lead to a resolution of the dispute.

Beef Plan is urging the Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to immediately reconvene talks to resolve the ongoing dispute - but without meat factories.

A visiting Chinese delegation inspecting Irish meat-processing plants may witness a stand-off at one facility today after efforts to broker a temporary lifting of the picket were rejected.

The Government has been urged to directly intervene in the beef price crisis amid escalating court actions and wildcat protests outside processing facilities around the country.

With some protesters continuing to defy court injunctions some processors sought to obtain attachment and committal orders that could lead to farmers involved in protest action being arrested.

A spokesperson for Meat Industry Ireland has said that he hopes it will not be necessary for gardaí to forcibly remove protestors outside meat plants.

Latest: Attempts to reconvene talks on the beef crisis would be a waste of time if the issue of pricing is not addressed, according to the Irish Farmers Association (IFA).

Meat Industry Ireland said it is very disappointing that protests have resumed at a small number of beef processing sites.