Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith has welcomed a commitment by the European Commission to take further emergency action in the event of market volatility in the milk sector.
He was speaking at an emergency meeting of EU farm ministers in Brussels following weeks of protest over the decline in milk prices.
Earlier, over 300 dairy farmers from across Europe gathered with tractors outside EU headquarters to protest at the crisis in the industry.
Ministers discussed proposals put forward by France and solutions suggested earlier by the European Commission, the EU's executive arm in charge of farm policy.
The French proposal for new dairy regulations has won the support of a majority of the EU's 27 member countries, but EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has said many of their suggestions had already been implemented or discussed.
Ms Fischer Boel said a proposed high-level group of experts would begin meeting next week to look at medium and long-term solutions including contractual issues between producers and dairies and a possible dairy futures market.
Protesting dairy farmers suspended their delivery boycott last week to await the outcome of the meeting, but have warned that they would restart the strike and harden their position if their demands are not met.
Some farmers hurled eggs, waved flags and placards and rang cowbells, while others let off firecrackers and chanted behind barricades manned by police in riot gear.
The farmers want the Commission to remove excess milk from the market and cut milk quotas by 5% to boost prices. The EU said in 2003 it planned to phase out the quota system by March 2015.
