Legislation dealing with the movement of animals in the State, and the role of dealers, is being revised, the Taoiseach said. "There are already controls on movement and in particular there is legislation in place to regulate dealers," he added.
"This legislation is in the process of being updated, but we need to revisit this aspect in the light of recent developments. We will continue to do whatever needs to be done in this context."
He urged caution in the views expressed on the threat from foot-and-mouth disease.
"One lesson we should take from the last two days, and from the evidence to date, is that we must be very careful that we do not talk ourselves into an immediate problem relating to our trading partners."
He said: "We see this as an emergency and have been acting accordingly. But no one can let their guard down, and any extra measures which may be required will be implemented and any extra resources which may be required will be provided."
However, the Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan, said muddled messages from the Minister for Agriculture on the foot-and-mouth threat were reducing confidence.
"The lack of clear information for farmers, the failure to notify district veterinary officers in Border counties in the first days of the outbreak, the lack of instruction to gardai, the stories of scarcity of disinfectant, and the general feeling of inefficiency, are sapping confidence," he said.
"I pledge the support of my party to all reasonable measures. If the virus moves southward, it will have appalling consequences, not only for farming families, but also for the tens of thousands of people employed in the food industry and in the wider economy."
The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said it was clear that despite the fact that the State depended on agribusiness, no substantial action plan was in place to deal with an outbreak of the disease.
The former minister of State for agriculture and rural development, Mr Ned O'Keeffe, has strongly criticised the speed of the Government's response to the food-and-mouth crisis, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Reporter.
Denying that he was taking revenge on the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, Mr O'Keeffe called for a 10-day ban on all animal movements to be put in place immediately.
"I believe that we were not reactive enough when the first announcements were made in the United Kingdom, when we were well informed that it was a very exotic and extreme virus."
Speaking from his home in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, Mr O'Keeffe said he had seen large numbers of livestock trucks moving late at night on roads in Co Cork on Saturday and on Thursday. "To me that was an indication that there were no measures in place," he said.
Last night a spokesman for the Minister declined to respond to Mr O'Keeffe's charges.