A small literary festival in Longford is postponed but an international poetry event goes ahead in Galway. The World Irish Dancing Championships in Ennis are postponed but Westlife fans from Ireland and abroad can travel to Dublin for a week of concerts. Inconsistencies abound over the staging of events during the foot-and-mouth crisis.
The Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, agrees there has been confusion: "But this was a new situation for everyone. We know a lot more now than we knew three weeks ago." The Government's expert group has now laid down clear guidelines so there should be no more confusion, he adds.
"There is no reason why a person from Dundalk should not travel to Dublin for a conference. Movement from urban to urban areas does not pose a risk. Ireland is not locked up. We are open for business."
Events such as weddings, theatre shows, indoor sporting events and conferences have been categorised as low-risk by the expert group and can proceed.
Outdoor sports events carry greater risk and should be held only if guidelines are followed. Meetings of farmers and events involving animals carry the highest risk.
The World Irish Dancing Championships, scheduled for this weekend, were cancelled before restrictions on indoor events were eased. The organisers are happy with their decision, says Mr Seamus O Se, Irish Dancing Commission chairman, but more clarity from the Government would have helped. The caveat that indoor events should go ahead only if visitors were not from farms or risk areas was not highlighted, he says.
The championships would have been high-risk because 35 per cent of visitors would have been British, many from areas where the disease is rampant. "It wouldn't have been right to bring that level of people, with their cars and food and bits and pieces, into a farming community."
Similarly, the decision to postpone the Maria Edgeworth Literary Weekend in Edge worthstown, Co Longford, was taken before the Government group produced its recommendations. "This is a big farming community and, with so many things being cancelled, we felt it would have been unfair to go ahead with it," said Mr Enda Dooley of Edgeworthstown Development Company.
Meanwhile, Cuirt - the international literary festival - will go ahead in Galway from April 23rd to 29th. Its director, Ms Helen Carey, says the festival is continuing because it is lowrisk.
It will attract many visitors from abroad, but the vast majority are likely to be from urban areas such as London. she said.
Confusion is widespread, says Ms Carmel Needham, tour operator and lecturer on travel and tourism in High School International, Limerick. She says the Ministers for Agriculture and Tourism should immediately clarify issues for tourism interests. "We need to be able to tell people, `if there is no other outbreak, then we will be open for business by April 19th', or whatever. At the moment, we don't know what to tell people."
She said she had received calls from potential tourists who believed Ireland had more than 700 cases of foot-and-mouth. Ms Needham pointed to Greece, which had two foot-and-mouth cases last year. "I knew nothing about that, and I'm involved in travel and tourism. Yet it seems that the two cases on this island have been publicised all over the world."
Mayo TD and former Minister for Tourism Mr Enda Kenny (FG) has noted council meetings are postponed, yet the Dail is sitting. "When we had no foot-and-mouth in the country almost everything was cancelled or postponed. Now that we have a case, there is no clear direction on what should go ahead. There is a need for clarity of message from the Government."