Business as usual for Ireland despite foot and mouth crisis

IRELAND has been able to maintain business as usual despite the foot and mouth outbreak in England, according to the Meat Industry Ireland (MII), which represents beef and lamb processors.

Irish exporters have faced some disruption in terms of meat consignments transiting Britain to continental European Union markets, but this has been more a case of shipping delays than outright stoppages.

MII director Cormac Healy said meat processing operations are now starting to resume in Britain.

Slaughtering resumed in Scotland yesterday and the industry expects to commence slaughtering in England today. This will see a quick normalisation of the market in Britain following yesterday’s decision by the British government to ease the ban on the movement of livestock, in place since the outbreak last week.

The decision to ease came into effect from midnight last night and will allow the movement of live animals under tight restrictions direct to slaughter and the collection of dead animals from farms.

Mr Healy urged continued vigilance from all associated with the livestock and meat trade and praised the approach adopted so far by Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan and her department.

Ms Coughlan said she did not think it was necessary at the moment to introduce further restrictions in Ireland following the outbreak of a second case of the virus in England, or change any of the rules and regulations.

Until such time as clearance was received from Britain, she would be hesitant to say foot and mouth disease would not spread here but they were working to ensure that the virus did not travel to Ireland.

The conclusion by the Health and Safety Executive in Britain that there was “a real possibility” that the virus in Surrey had been released by human movement was earlier reviewed by the minister and her senior officials.

After chairing a meeting of her department’s National Disease Control Centre in Dublin, she noted that the executive’s report was an initial one and that the human movement involvement was being investigated further as a matter of urgency.

She also reviewed the operation of the ban on the importation of live animals and products from Britain and the certification requirements relating to such imports from the North.

Meanwhile, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association deputy chairman Gabriel Gilmartin urged retailer Marks & Spencer’s to sell more Irish lamb and beef.

“The current foot and mouth crisis shows the difficulties that are posed by depending too much on imported products,” he said.