The severity of the measures taken by the Government to combat foot-and-mouth disease has now been brought home fully to citizens of this State. Meanwhile, the spread of the disease throughout the adjoining island testifies to its virulence in an environment in which such measures are not applied.
Drastic restrictions on the movement of animals and people, exclusion zones, tough new regulations on tagging sheep and combating rogue traders, and the cancellation of so many events have all demonstrated what a great deal is at stake in keeping the disease at bay. It is a national emergency and people have reacted accordingly.
So far, the Government has been fortunate indeed that no case has been confirmed from the first week after the disease was reported in Britain, during which its preventive actions were less than fully operational. Since the incubation period is two weeks, there are still some days to go before it is certain that the disease did not take hold during those days. But even if that is the case, this State remains highly vulnerable because foot-and-mouth is still rampant in Britain and there has been one occurrence in Northern Ireland.
We now know that even one case in the Republic would lead to an EU ban on trade in animals and many foodstuffs, causing serious damage to these industries. There is widespread acceptance that this must be avoided if at all possible, given the centrality of agriculture and food for the Irish-owned sector of the economy. With nearly 600 farms under restriction, most of them admittedly low risk, it can readily be seen as a problem that will be with us for weeks and months, until the disease subsides in the UK. Even when it does, experience suggests that any reduction in containment measures can be very dangerous.
The crisis has exposed many grave shortcomings in regulating the live animal and meat industries. These were dramatically highlighted by the journey of the sheep from Carlisle to Meigh in south Armagh and from there to several destinations in the Republic. The Minister for Agriculture has now introduced tough new regulations on cross-border smuggling in the livestock trading sector, made tagging of sheep compulsory and provided that live animals should be held for at least 30 days with special permits applying. It has taken this emergency to mobilise the political will required to deal with these issues in the Department of Agriculture. Many will ask, quite justifiably, why such measures have not been taken long before now.
It is right to insist that the full rigours of the law be applied against rogue traders and other such operators. The rest of the population, which has borne the impact of such severe restrictions, should tolerate nothing less. This generation has been reminded of how central agriculture and food remain in this economy. That realisation is a good opportunity to cast a searching light on many of the assumptions guiding policy for so long. It looks as if it will take weeks and months more before the foot-and-mouth restrictions can be lifted. These criminals must not be allowed to anticipate a return to the status quo ante.