A former government vet has received a 1.25m settlement from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, along with an "unreserved" apology.
Dr Tamara Bronckaers resigned from the Department in 2018.
This came after concerns she raised about animal welfare and failures in traceability in the meat supply chain were not acted on.
An industrial tribunal in September 2021 found she had been constructively dismissed.
The department dropped its appeal against that decision earlier this month.
On Monday, it issued a statement in which it apologised to Ms Bronckaers for the "hurt and distress caused".
In a statement issued by her solicitors, McCartan Turkington Breen, Dr Bronckaers said the last few years had been "extremely harrowing", and she could now "move on in the knowledge that I did what was right".
Dr Bronckaers had worked at the department for 19 years before she resigned in February 2018.
The industrial tribunal heard she was regarded as an expert on livestock market legislation.
Her responsibilities included livestock markets, biosecurity and zoonoses - diseases that can move between animals and humans.
Dr Bronckaers had identified serious failings in animal welfare at some livestock markets, and the abuse of a process called "deleted moves".
That was a process whereby a dealer would buy an animal, without having someone to immediately sell it on to.
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