BORDER controls are being intensified to prevent the spread of Newcastle Disease in poultry from the North and to protect the Republic's £400 million industry.
Concern is growing both in the Republic and in Northern Ireland, where a sixth case of the highly contagious disease has been confirmed close to the Border.
A large proportion of the Republic's poultry industry is concentrated in counties Monaghan, Cavan and Louth, and there is a similar concentration in the adjoining cross Border counties of Tyrone and Armagh.
Officials in the North say that the spread of the disease is far worse than first thought and a special crisis meeting is scheduled for Belfast later today to cope with the situation.
The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland (DANI) met representatives from the industry in Belfast yesterday but deferred a decision on emergency measures for 24 hours. One of the measures being considered is the imposition of vaccination across the North.
Most of the outbreaks to date have occurred in the vicinity of Lough Neagh, which attracts huge numbers of wild birds. These may be a factor in the spread of the disease, making it difficult to control.
The two latest confirmed cases were in a broiler breeding unit in Coagh, Co Tyrone, and a commercial layer unit near Newtownards Co Down.
DANI immediately declared a 10 km exclusion zone around the infected premises and the slaughter of the infected birds began. North Monaghan is the part of the Republic nearest the area affected but is well outside the 10 km limit.
Almost 100,000 birds have died or been destroyed in the past 10 days. A Department of Agriculture official in Dublin said yesterday that it was working closely with the northern authorities to contain the disease.
"We already have Operation Matador in operation on the Border to prevent the entry of cattle and this will be now intensified because of the Newcastle disease problem," he said.
"The industry is worth £400 million annually in the State and we will take the necessary steps to protect it from the disease," he said.
Almost 5,000 people are directly employed in Northern Ireland's poultry industry, which accounts for 10 per cent of agricultural output.
The industry is highly concentrated, however, with 99 per cent of the North's three million laying hens owned by 150 farms.