The President, Mrs McAleese, has spoken of feeling a sense of "sickening devastation" when she heard the news that foot-and-mouth had been confirmed in the State.
Speaking on RTE, Mrs McAleese said the lives of people in the affected Cooley peninsula had "lost so much in 24 hours, my heart goes out to them".
The President said there was a growing sense of determination throughout Ireland that the disease would not get the upper hand.
People had too much pride in the country's reputation to allow this. "We worked hard for this and we are not going to let something take it away from us," she said.