No compensation for other industries - Ahern

The Taoiseach has ruled out compensation for industries other than farming that have been badly hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Speaking in Stockholm where he was preparing for an EU summit, Bertie Ahern dismissed calls for financial aid from various business organisations as "just not possible".

"There are so many areas involved, tourism being the obvious one. We have to manage this as best we can, but we cannot compensate the secondary industries," he said.

Foreign Minister Brian Cowen also called on the European Commission to examine its disease containment procedures in light of recent outbreaks in hitherto untouched countries such as Ireland and the Netherlands.

He pledged the Government's support for any measures suggested by Food Safety Commissioner David Byrne, saying the crisis had highlighted the need for more Commission autonomy in the area of disease prevention.