Today should have been an occasion for justifiable, if cautious, national celebration, given that 30 days have passed in the Republic without any additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease. Since the initial outbreak on the Cooley peninsula, it has been a tense time. There may be a sense of relief now, but two new outbreaks during the past week in Northern Ireland, where the source of infection remains unclear, and continuing economic damage arising from the epidemic in Britain and the very small number of cases here, should eradicate any notion that we have beaten the virus.
The Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid, is planning a major publicity drive in Britain, Europe and the United States to help the badly damaged hospitality and tourist sector. The serious financial losses occasioned by last month's outbreak in Co Louth continue to mount up. While various restrictions and closures are being progressively lifted, caution and vigilance remain imperative. A positive and enlightened response by Irish consumers and service providers in this difficult situation can help to minimise the damage. Dr McDaid has appealed to Irish citizens to holiday at home this year, or to take short weekend breaks in the country. At the same time, he has asked the industry to drop its prices and to make a range of special holiday offers available in order to encourage domestic and foreign take-up. The extent of the losses suffered by a range of interests, from simple bed and breakfast establishments, to hotels, restaurants and major conference centres, is very large. When specialist sectors, such as angling and outdoor pursuits are included, the figure is well in excess of £200 million. The industry has been denied direct compensation by the Government, unlike the situation in relation to agriculture where farmers are paid for those animals that are destroyed. Some 60,000 animals have already been culled in this State. If the disease can be kept at bay by these measures we will have escaped relatively lightly. The planned rescheduling of St Patrick's Day celebrations for May 18th should provide an important recovery platform. The run-up to that weekend festival will be marked by an intensive information campaign in the US, designed to reassure tourists that Ireland is open for business and our food perfectly safe to eat. President McAleese is acting as ambassador for the industry this week in the course of her US visit, which has coincided with the hoped-for `all clear' in relation to the disease. In tandem with a major marketing campaign, Dr McDaid and representatives of Bord Bia, Bord Failte and the IDA will embark on a week-long tour of major US cities designed to correct misapprehensions. Though there is a disease all-clear, it makes good sense to remain at a high state of alertness. Intensive disinfection measures must remain in place at ports and airports. People from areas which may still be incubating the disease must be encouraged to stay away. That said, it will be difficult to justify closure of mountains, farmland and river banks to visitors - if they adopt proper disinfection measures - while normal commerce in relation to farms resumes. The Government's committee of experts will decide. Even then, some farmers may be unhappy to see visitors cross their land. But, given the manner in which tourist interests and the community have rallied behind them in their hour of need, a generous and balanced response by farming leaders would be appropriate.