The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, and top Ministry officials in Northern Ireland are being urged to undertake an immediate investigation into a huge outbreak of cattle disease affecting the Border counties.
Bovine TB and brucellosis has wiped out herds belonging to several farmers in north Louth and south Armagh.
The disease was detected in livestock on both sides of the Border following tests and has led to the "lock-up" of a number of farms. Farmers in the region set up a cross-Border committee at the weekend to lobby both governments for immediate action.
After talks with senior IFA officials and representatives from the Ulster Farmers' Union, who visited the region on Friday, the group's chairman, Mr Henry McElroy, of Mounthill, said: "It's a devastating situation - out of nine farms which straddle the Border, cattle have failed tests on six and the losses have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds."
He said farmers believed the disease was being spread by British soldiers going on daily foot patrols across fields.
"Soldiers move from a farm where diseased herds are locked up and go on to other fields where there are disease-free cattle - it means they take the bacteria on boots and clothing, causing the disease to spread," said Mr McElroy.
On the Co Louth side , Mr Paddy Martin , secretary of the new committee, said: "We cannot remain silent about this situation any longer and feel there is an onus on the Minister to act immediately.
"If the disease is allowed to spread further, it will pose a threat to our livestock exports".