The IFA last night denied reports that its refusal to allow sheep tagging had in any way led to current problems tracing animals smuggled across the Border. The tagging of sheep had been opposed by the IFA on the grounds that it would add nothing to traceability unless the tags could be matched to animal carcasses.
The introduction of sheep traceability and tagging of this year's lamb flock was announced at the weekend following a meeting between the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, and the farm organisations on Saturday.
"We put forward comprehensive proposals to the Department on September 1st, 2000, but the Department did not act on this," said an IFA spokes man.
"By its own admission, the Department's own plan to bring in tagging would not have come into place until March 1st, after the outbreaks occurred in Britain," the spokesman said.
"But what is being neglected here is that we were the people who pointed out to the Department and then went on to prove, that there were illegal sheep movements from the North and from Britain into the Republic," he said.
The spokesman said the IFA believed it had no questions to answer in relation to sheep tagging, but it would fully co-operate with the introduction of the scheme for this year's lamb crop.
The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, Mr Pat O'Rourke, who had also met the Minister and his team on Saturday, said his organisation was working to put in place a programme of "farm fortress".
"As part of this plan, thousands of notices have been erected at farm entrances and disinfectant beds are now in place," Mr O'Rourke said.
Commenting on the new restrictions on movements of animals, Mr O'Rourke advised farmers not to allow any trucks containing livestock on their farms to pick up additional animals for slaughter.
"A farmer who has insufficient animals to justify a livestock truck should deliver the animals with his own transport and thoroughly clean and disinfect the trailer and vehicle before leaving the slaughtering plant," he said.
Mr O'Rourke added farmers must continue with all controls both at farm and national level until there was complete assurance there was no further risk from foot-and-mouth.
In a statement last night, Mr Tom Parlon, the IFA president, said the rally of national solidarity in the face of the disease had been a major contribution in resisting the threat of the disease entering the country.
He said that as the hours and days passed, the threat of the disease already being in the country was receding. "A challenge still remains to keep the disease out of the country, which will require ongoing co-operation and vigilance," he said.
Mr Parlon, who had asked farmers to check all their stock over the weekend, said the movement controls put in place over the weekend would mean the risk of spread would be greatly lessened.