Ireland will have more than 100 cases of BSE for the first time this year, according to the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh.
He told the national veterinary conference in Dun Laoghaire yesterday that the hundredth case of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) this year will be reported by the end of this month. To date, there have been 90 cases, 44 more than in the same period last year.
The Minister said that he was satisfied that the strictest controls in the world on BSE were in place in the Republic.
The figures, he said, had to be put into the context of Ireland having a national herd of 7.5 million animals and of only 528 cases reported here since 1989. The overall incidence of BSE in the State continued to be very low.
"The higher number of cases here this year was foreseen in the recent report of the European Union's Scientific Committee, which predicted a temporary increase in the number of cases for the next couple of years from animals infected prior to the measures introduced in 1996 and 1997 taking full effect," he told delegates.
Restating the Government's commitment to eradicate the disease at the earliest possible date, Mr Walsh said that the surveillance and control measures, which were significantly enhanced in 1996 and 1997, were being reviewed on an ongoing basis.
These, he said, were being supplemented by the enhanced active surveillance programme now under way. He told reporters later that this new programme was turning up additional cases. This was because casualty and fallen animals being presented at meat plants were now being examined for BSE, and in general there was better overall diagnosis by the professionals.
Praising the support given to the industry by the veterinary profession, he said that their work in carrying out the checks and procedures had ensured that Irish cattle and beef were in high demand in markets throughout the EU.
The Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms Brid Rodgers, said that it was now 10 years since the first case of BSE had been found in Northern Ireland. She said that the current incidence of the disease in the North was lower than in the Republic, but despite that there were grave difficulties facing the beef industry there because of BSE.