Cabinet is to spread word abroad about tough controls

Members of the Cabinet and other Ministers will be sent throughout the world on St Patrick's Day to spread the word that Irish controls against foot-and-mouth are tougher than in Britain.

The decision by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, reverses a plan to curb St Patrick's Day travel and illustrates growing dissatisfaction in the Government with the scale of the British response.

In a telephone call, Mr Ahern expressed anxiety to the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, about his decision not to call for a ban on sporting events in Britain, including Cheltenham.

"The Prime Minister agreed to have the matter looked into," the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, told the Labour TD, Mr Willie Penrose, during a special debate in the Dail last night.

Mr Blair said the British authorities still believed foot-and-mouth cases in the UK could all be traced back to one source, Mr Walsh said. "It is hard to figure that out because they are so widely dispersed, but that is the position as far as the British authorities are concerned," he added.

New legislation to counteract rogue livestock dealers, due to come before the Seanad today, would impose a £100,000 fine, and/or five years in jail on anybody found guilty of breaches of the Diseases of Animals Act, he said.

Vehicles and lands could be confiscated, while those convicted could also be banned completely from farming.

Asked about the spread of the disease in Britain, Mr Walsh said the Department of Agriculture was particularly concerned about the Dartmoor case, which is relatively near Ireland.

"As we know, this virus can become airborne. We are concerned about that and the laxity of controls," Mr Walsh said.

Accepting that lessons would have to be learned, Mr Walsh emphasised that the emergency plan was working efficiently. "That is not to suggest that the risk has in any way subsided."

Rules to govern the movement of animals by farmers with land in different places will be in place by today.

Following a telephone call with the British Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mr Nick Brown, the Minister will today meet Northern Ireland's Minister of Agriculture, Ms Brid Rodgers.