More moves to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth are under way tonight as an emergency session of a specially-appointed government task force ended in Dublin.
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, flew back early from the European summit in Stockholm to chair the meeting, which carried out a detailed assessment of the present position in the light of Thursday's confirmation of the disease in the Co Louth.
The review went ahead against a background of an on-going mass slaughter of thousands of farm animals caught up in the Louth restriction zone imposed as a result of the outbreak.
As many as 40,000 sheep and other animals in the county's Cooley peninsular, the location of foot-and-mouth farm, may have to be destroyed before the cull is completed.
The source of the outbreak has still to be traced and since its confirmation a number of farms throughout the Irish Republic have been sealed off by police and agriculture department officials as part of their investigations.
The latest premises to be affected today were four farms in three Co Meath villages, where the immediate culling of sheep was ordered.
But the authorities said the measures were purely precautionary as efforts went on to trace any sheep that may have arrived in the Republic after passing through Northern Ireland's Co Armagh, where a case of the disease was detected last month.
The Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh said none of the sites under investigation on the southern side of the Irish border were currently regarded as "hot suspects" for foot-and-mouth, but stressed that every care was being taken.
No other animals with any symptoms of the disease have yet been found in the State.
Today's task force meeting was understood to have studied the impact of the present crisis on other industries, particularly tourism. Holiday trade sources said tens of millions of pounds would already have been lost.
Before leaving Stockholm, Mr Ahern had a bilateral meeting with the British prime minister Tony Blair and underscored the importance of maximising top-level precautions in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile the head of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association has said the Government should offer veterinary help to Britain in an attempt to bring the foot-and-mouth position there under control.
Pat O'Rourke said: "We need to respond as good neighbours, and I have been in contact with farm leaders in the UK. They have identified one of the problems as the lack of additional vets to cope with the outbreak.
"So I think it is only right and proper that the government and the veterinary unions here should consider making vets available to travel over and assist in the eradication of foot-and-mouth."