The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain will mean the introduction of some of the controls put in place in 1967, when a mass outbreak of the disease there led to the slaughter of 440,000 cattle.
From last night passengers returning from Britain were being given leaflets requesting them to report to Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development inspectors if they had visited farms or were carrying any food products.
Department inspectors will confiscate any items which contain meat or milk under a ban on the importation of such products which came into force last night.
People who have visited farms or have been in contact with cattle, sheep, goats, deer or pigs will have their clothes thoroughly disinfected by inspectors.
However, the Department is not yet seeking the mass disinfecting of all passengers coming into the Republic from Britain. This occurred during 1967-68 at all airports and points of entry into the State. Special facilities for disinfecting all vehicles crossing the Border were put in place and vehicles were stopped and checked at all Border crossings.
The main Irish supermarkets said last night they had been advised by the Department to withdraw from sale any pig products they had imported from the North or Britain. The supermarkets said they would be complying with the order and only a limited range of products - pork pies, some sausages and other items - were involved.
The companies will also be forced to withdraw any dairy or dairy-related products from their shelves under the EU ban. This could hit some cheese, confectionery and chocolate pro ducts.
A number of smaller retailers are understood to be bringing milk into the Republic from the North, and this, too, will be banned. It is understood that only limited quantities are involved.
Last night the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, asked Irish people to avoid visiting farms, especially in the infected areas, and said no meat or meat products, milk or milk products should be brought back into the State.
The Department is planning a public information campaign in the event of further outbreaks of foot-and-mouth in Britain. TV and radio advertising will be used to alert the public to the danger to trade if the disease reaches Ireland.
Dr Patrick Wall, the chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, said last night that foot-and-mouth disease was an animal health issue and posed no threat to humans.