The Minister for Agriculture Mr Walsh has warned that the country's tourist industry could be wiped out if foot-and-mouth spread beyond the area where the State's sole case of the disease so far was confirmed last month.
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An Army helicopter carrying carcasses of Cooley Mountain goats.
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Mr Walsh said current restrictions imposed to keep the virus within the restriction zone around County Louth had to be maintained.
He also indicated there should be no early return of horse-racing - banned since the start of the crisis - and urged punters not to travel to the Grand National meeting at Aintree this week, even though Irish horses have been cleared to take part, providing they stay out of Ireland afterwards.
The minister underscored his hope that the final outcome of tests being carried out at Pirbright, Surrey, on sheep samples from Co Louth and Co Wexford, would confirm initial indications that they were clear of the disease.
But he said the worsening position in Britain and the Netherlands left him still "extremely worried" about the disease.
Mr Walsh declared: "We have had a very, serious threat overhanging the entire economy.
"And if we cannot contain this disease to the area of Co Louth, then there would be no tourist industry and there would be permanent damage done to the whole agriculture base of the economy. "
He said the cause of the Co Louth outbreak, which happened a few miles from the farm in Meigh, Co Armagh, had still to be traced.
The Department of Agriculture has been working on the assumption that the Louth outbreak was secondary to the one across the border.
The cull of animals on the Cooley peninsula is expected to be finished by Wednesday.
Mr Walsh, said that by the end of today 5,000 animals will have been slaughtered with the same number being culled tomorrow and Wednesday when the operation should be finished.
Additional reporting PA