Irish farmers benefited economically from the outbreak of foot- and-mouth disease last year, according to a study just published. While taxpayers and the tourism sector bore "significant costs" as a result of the outbreak, farmers obtained higher meat prices because of shortages in Britain.
The study, carried out by Prof Alan Matthews and Dr Ronnie O'Toole of the economics department in Trinity College Dublin, calls for a wide-ranging inquiry into the issues arising from the outbreak.
It says that while the overall impact of foot-and-mouth was "relatively modest", future outbreaks can be expected and could cause much greater economic damage.
While several government inquiries have been carried out in Britain and Northern Ireland to examine the implications for animal health strategies, there has been no such inquiry in the Republic, it says.
The study, published in the current edition of the Irish Banking Review, also questions the scientific value of measures implemented last year, such as public movement restrictions and the use of disinfectant mats.
On the economic impact of the outbreak, it finds the effect on agriculture was positive overall. "The most important impact was that, due to the strict mobility restrictions and widespread slaughter in the UK, a shortage of beef, pork and lamb there translated into a jump in their respective prices, an effect which significantly benefited Irish producers," it says.
For the tourism sector, the outbreak resulted in an estimated loss of €200 million in spending by international visitors. This would have been offset, however, by spending by Irish holidaymakers who had planned to visit Britain but stayed at home.
The Government spent an estimated €100 million in tackling the problem, about half of it on Garda overtime. Department of Agriculture staff costs and expenses came to €18.3 million and €16 million respectively, while €10.1 million was spent on compensation to farmers and €6.3 million on tourism advertising.
A loss of VAT revenue because of restrictions on cross-Border shopping and trade is also considered to have been significant, according to the study's authors, although no estimates exist.
Foot-and-mouth disease, the study points out, is particularly threatening because the virus has been moving out of Asia and the Middle East towards Europe in the past decade. It was therefore vital that lessons be learned from what happened last year and an all-Ireland animal health strategy adopted to minimise the likelihood and extent of future outbreaks.
While the need for animal movement limitations was well understood in the pig and poultry sectors, cattle and sheep production was much less vertically integrated. "Steps need to be taken to reduce the huge amount of animal movement here as part of a biosecurity strategy in the future," the study recommends.
It argues that while control measures have been tightened since the outbreak, an "official, wide-ranging inquiry" involving all stakeholders is required to draw up strategies for future outbreaks.
While the restrictions on movement and use of disinfectant mats had been useful in raising awareness last year, their scientific value was "less established", the authors say.
