A leading economist has played down the threat posed by foot-and-mouth disease to the Irish farming industry and the economy as a whole.
Mr Jim O'Leary of Davy Stockbrokers said rumours of the imminent demise of Irish farming and the economy on the back of foot-and-mouth owed nothing to serious thought or analysis.
Although painful and disruptive to those affected, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth would have a zero effect on farm output unless there was widespread culling of the national herd, he said.
Livestock and livestock product would still need to be processed, whether there was a foot-and-mouth outbreak or not, Mr O'Leary added. While a ban on exports to the EU would automatically come into effect, a range of important processed livestock products would be exempt, he said.
But Mr Jim Power, director of investment strategy at Friends First Asset Management, said a confirmed outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Republic would mean an immediate ban on Irish exports of meat and dairy products for a six-month period, knocking approximately 1.5 per cent off the State's current rate of economic growth in a full year. IBEC director Mr Turlough O'Sullivan said there would not be a complete ban on meat and milk products as some commentators had indicated. Based on the Commission's decision as applied to Britain, there would be a complete ban on raw meat and raw milk products only, he said.
IBEC is advising its members, including supermarkets, particularly in rural areas, to disinfect their premises and to implement a ban on all meetings.
The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has called for a four-week period of concentrated measures to be taken immediately to safeguard against an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the State. These include strictly enforcing the restriction and movement of animals, instructing people to desist from gathering in large numbers and mobilising the Army and Garda to enforce effectively the necessary controls.
Federation president Ms Mary Fitzgerald said the Irish economy as a whole, not just its £4 billion tourist industry, had too much to lose unless urgent action was taken to control the current situation.
