Bertie Joyce, farmer and guesthouse owner on the Aran island of Inis Mor, is a man under pressure. On the one hand he was looking forward to Easter as the start of a busy season for tourists. On the other hand he dreads hordes of people walking over his land.
His property borders on Dun Aengus, the island's clifftop fort, which has been closed to visitors since the foot-and-mouth disease prevention measures were introduced. "It is meant to be out of bounds, but there are people who will ignore this," he said.
"So they walk over my land, where I had cattle on February 1st. It makes you wonder if it wouldn't be better for Duchas to open the main pathway, with restricted access, to stop that kind of thing."
Other measures initiated on the mainland don't have great relevance to island life. Take the movement of animals. "Normally in here, a jobber will come and buy the cattle of, say, 20 people, and all those animals are taken in on one boat," Mr Joyce said. "It's not like we can transport them separately, with just one vessel. And if we don't get the cattle off here in a month's time, we'll be worried."
The Galway harbourmaster, Capt Brian Sheridan, has suspended the carriage of animals between the Aran islands and Galway port, as has his colleague in Rossaveal, Capt John Donnelly. Ferry passengers travelling from both harbours are also required to step over the disinfectant mat at the gangway.
Aer Arann has introduced precautionary measures for air passengers, but the effect of the mats at ferry points is a subject for much debate among islanders.
It is also a very sensitive issue, given the dependence on both agriculture and tourism.
On Thursday morning three groups of people disembarking from a ferry on to one Mayo island ignored the mat completely. Yet just one case of the disease among the stock could be devastating, in terms of general freedom of movement.
Mrs Treasa Joyce, who runs Kilmurvey Guest House on Inis Mor with her husband, reports a number of cancelled bookings for the month of May.
"Mainly Americans, who see reports of `the British isles' on the satellite television and walking groups who won't be able to gain access to the cliffs. We are very dependent on bookings here because were are 4-1/2 miles from Cill Ronain and we don't get off-the-street business."
It is a similar picture on other islands on the western seaboard. Mr Chris O'Grady, hotelier and ferry operator on Clare Island in Clew Bay, Co Mayo, says many visitors have phoned to check if ferries are still running to the islands at all.
"Bookings are down considerably, particularly among walking groups," he said. "Most passengers are very good about using the disinfected mats we have, out at Roonagh pier, on the mainland, and on the island.
"Obviously the restrictions have worked, when we only have two cases on this island to date, but it may be time to loosen up a bit and let people know - particularly the Americans - that we are open for business."
Ms Ciara Cullen, chairwoman of the Cliara Development Company on Clare Island in Co Mayo and a farmer herself, believes the situation presents a dilemma for the 3,000 inhabitants of the Republic's islands. "We cannot discriminate here in terms of freedom of movement, because there is one landing point" she said.
"No one wants to seal the place off either. But if there is a suspected case here, all movement stops, including that of children going to school off the island. This has always been a fragile environment, but this situation brings it into very sharp focus."
Dr Peter Gill, a Clare island resident and co-founder of Comdhail Oileain na hEireann, the Irish Islands Federation, believes an "ill wind" presents the islands with an opportunity, when the alert is over, to brand food produced in an island environment.
He has long held the view that the island federation should place more emphasis on sustainable forms of economic development, such as food production - be it farming or fish farming - than on tourism.
Dr Gill commutes between Clare Island and Sweden, which has 8,000 people living on islands and skerries off its coastline. Recently its island parliament passed a resolution designed to encourage organic food production.
"The Rural Environment Protection Scheme has benefited the island here, but there should be added incentives to encourage organic cultivation," Dr Gill said.
"It isn't so long ago since I heard of Tipperary farmers coming to the Burren or the Aran islands for good cattle stock, to revitalise their herds, so there is already a recognition there of the quality of the island environment."