There needs to be a balance in the fight against foot-and-mouth between reducing the risk of spreading disease and jeopardising jobs, according to Fine Gael.

Its enterprise, trade and employment spokesman, Mr Charles Flanagan, said the tourism industry was now in crisis. It employs 150,000 people with £3 billion in receipts, representing 4 per cent of GNP.

Other businesses both in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors were facing huge difficulties. "The Government is too laid-back in its response to the economic consequences and must undertake a far more vigorous and aggressive approach of a type envisaged by Fine Gael."

Mr Flanagan was speaking on the second day of a private member's motion on foot-and-mouth. His party called for the establishment of a special task force to assess the economic impact of the disease and introduce an aid package to mitigate the loss and damage.

Ms Breda Moynihan-Cronin (Lab, Kerry South) called for the Ministers for Agriculture and Tourism to "iron out the serious discrepancies which exist in the type of information going out to the public about the foot-and-mouth restrictions".

There was a necessity for a "reassurance campaign", she said. "People have rallied round the cause of agriculture. It is now time to do the same for tourism."

The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, warned that Ireland was "not out of the woods" yet. The crisis in Britain was deepening daily, and the number of confirmed cases there was more than 1,000. The Netherlands had decided on a mass cull of 80,000 animals and was using vaccination on animals awaiting slaughter.

He said it was critical for the tourism and agri-food industries and the economy in general that "we should proceed in a prudent manner. These vital industries will not thank us in the long run for rushing headlong into a relaxation of restrictions without considering the risks and taking appropriate precautions to minimise them."