Department of Agriculture investigators have uncovered "serious" problems with ewe premium applications from nearly 2,000 flock owners.
A State-wide investigation into fraudulent claims was prompted by findings from the Cooley peninsula, where it was found that more than 100 flock owners had made claims for the £19 per head ewe premium for 6,500 sheep which did not exist.
When the extent of the fraud was revealed in The Irish Times, the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, ordered a document check on all claims made in the State. This work is continuing.
Yesterday, the Department of Agriculture said there had been 38,550 claims for ewe premiums in their flock by farmers and to date it had paid out on 35,454 of the applications.
However, payments were being withheld on 3,096 applications because of queries of one kind or another. Of these claims, 1,369 related to identification of animals.
But in the cases of another 1,727 claimants there were more serious problems, with the applications relating to movement of animals and failure to retain animals for the requisite 100 days following the application period.
The spokesman said 480 of these applicants had not returned the official form at the end of the retention period to show they still had the animals on their farms so they could qualify for the premium.
In another development, the Department of Agriculture is to launch a major publicity drive to help prevent foot-and-mouth from spreading here from Britain. Television and other advertising will be used from next week to increase awareness of the risks.
The Minister for Agriculture has ordered a major review of disinfecting facilities at ports and airports and has urged farm organisations to insist that their members increase vigilance on farms.
The first case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) outside Europe was identified on a farm east of Tokyo earlier this week. Japan had been importing meat and bonemeal from Britain up to 1996.
In January, Tokyo banned the importation of beef and processed beef products from 18 countries, including Ireland, to prevent the disease from entering Japan.