Cormac Styles
I am into GAA so I do find it really annoying that matches have to be cancelled because of the recent foot and mouth scare. I understand it is important to find the animals and slaughter them as we are at risk of losing export trade. We didn't hear so much about BSE but my mum says you don't know what is in meat these days.
Darren Hogan
There should be stricter controls on tagging and transporting animals. All the scares make you think you shouldn't eat so much meat. I don't know anything about tuberculosis but you hear a lot on the news about the BSE and foot and mouth. I do feel sorry for the farmers losing their livelihood.
Sarah-Lynn O'Mahony
The scares don't really worry me too much - the mad cow disease didn't have too much affect on us but we need to be careful. I don't have an awful lot of sympathy for the farmers because some of them smuggle in infected animals and foodstuffs, but I'd worry if there aren't enough people staying in farming.
Aoibhin O'Malley
Scares like the foot and mouth don't just affect farming - things like tourism are affected too. Last year we learned about milk quotas - farmers are literally pouring milk down the sink and in the Third World people are starving. I sympathise with some farmers but not the ones with big Mercs, big houses and electric gates.
Ben Murnane
I blame the different farming crises on farming methods and widespread use of chemicals and hormones. Because of the growth in world population we need to use genetically modified (GM) crops but we don't know what affect this will have on us. I'm not a vegetarian but I do feel sorry for the animals.
Diarmuid Ruth
Because of growth in industries like IT, we don't rely on the agriculture industry as much as we did in the economy. I think the authorities did the best job they could in the circumstances as regards the foot and mouth outbreak. I'm a rugby fan, so I am really annoyed about the cancellation of matches.
Eamon Fitzgerald
I feel sympathy with some farmers but some take unnecessary risks and give the industry a bad name. People caught using Angel Dust or other illegal substances should be punished severely. I understand the cancellation of public gatherings because of foot and mouth - we all have to be responsible.
