The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, has ruled out any possibility of an amnesty for traders, dealers or farmers who may have brought sheep or cattle illegally into the Republic in recent months.
Smuggling has been implicated in the spread of foot-and-mouth disease from Britain to Northern Ireland. The hunt to locate smuggled animals has grown as it becomes clearer foot-and-mouth disease may not have been detected in Britain for several weeks before the first case was confirmed there on February 20th.
"I am not in the mood to give any amnesty whatsoever to these people. People have a duty to give information first and foremost," said the Minister following reports that at least one of the traders was seeking an amnesty in return for information.
Veterinary and other experts tracking down illegally imported sheep believe the priority is to find all illegal imports.
The Department has already slaughtered and destroyed 3,500 animals as a precaution. The most recent one took place over the weekend when 450 animals from five farms in Co Louth were killed. Blood and tissue from these animals are being analysed in Britain.
As the number of cases in Britain rose to more than 160 yesterday, the UK's chief veterinary officer, Mr Jim Scuda more, admitted his experts were taken by surprise at the extent and rapid spread of outbreaks there. "At the moment we are identifying outbreaks probably caused by the movement of sheep before the 23rd [February], and then we are containing those outbreaks," he told BBC radio. We cannot tell what is incubating out there." A full review of how the industry works would have to be carried out in the aftermath of the outbreak, he said.
The seriousness with which Ireland views the spread of the disease in Britain was highlighted on Saturday when the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, chaired the special interdepartmental group set up to prevent the disease entering the State. That group is made up of representatives from the Taoiseach's Department; Public Enterprise; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Defence; Finance; the Defence Forces and other agencies. A Department spokesman confirmed that this committee could recommend a restriction of movement of people between Britain and Ireland should the situation demand, and the Government had the power to introduce such restrictions under animal health legislation.
The British Minister for Agriculture, Mr Brown, rejected criticism from Mr Walsh that the disease in Britain appeared to be out of control. This was not the case, he told BBC 1's Break- fast with Frost programme. "I can understand him being upset and angry, the livestock sector is very important to Ireland. "I spoke to Joe Walsh about what we are doing and about their situation on Friday. The problem we have is that the disease had spread before it emerged, before we caught it."
Today will see the first meeting of the special committee set up by Mr Walsh to advise him on the appropriateness of controls and changes which might be made should the situation ease.
Chaired by Prof Michael Monaghan, dean of the faculty of veterinary medicine, UCD, its members are: Prof Martin Cormican, UCG; Dr Colin Hill, UCC; Mr Michael C. Gaynor, the Department's chief veterinary officer; Dr Michael Gunn, also of the Department; Dr Grace Mulcahy, UCD; and Dr Kevin O'Farrell, Teagasc, Moorepark, Co Cork.