Tourism industry under threat from outbreak

There are warnings of a disaster in the tourism sector because of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The Minister for Tourism, Jim McDaid, is calling on the Department of Agriculture to rethink the way in which we are dealing with the crisis because of the negative impact it is having on the Irish image.

Bookings from American tourists are down by 20% from this time last year and if the sector does not improve soon, up to 20,000 jobs could be on the line.