Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed an unusually sharp row between the Minister for Agriculture and the chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The Minister, Mr Walsh, accused Dr Patrick Wall of making claims on RTE television six weeks ago which were "extremely serious and a complete falsehood".
The dispute between the two centred on the purpose of the "purchase for destruction" scheme under which cattle over 30 months old can be presented for destruction, rather than entering the food chain.
Around 135,000 cattle have been destroyed since the scheme was introduced in January by the EU in response to the latest BSE crisis to hit Europe.
Mr Walsh said Dr Wall had claimed on RTE's Prime Time television programme on January 30th that the public was misled by the Department of Agriculture about the purpose of the scheme.
The Minister insisted that press releases issued by him had made it "abundantly clear that the scheme was introduced as a market support measure and was not, as stated by Dr Wall, `promoted as a BSE control'."
The interview with Mr Walsh followed a pre-recorded film piece in which the FSAI chief executive outlined his concerns.
In a letter next day to Mr Martin, who as Minister for Health has responsibility for the FSAI, Mr Walsh said: "The repeated assertion by Dr Wall that there was an attempt to mislead the public flies totally in the face of the facts and I simply find it unacceptable . . . The unjustified comments by Dr Wall last evening had precisely the opposite effect as well as undermining my credibility and that of my Department."
In his letter to Mr Martin, Mr Walsh asked "that the authority should now publicly correct the position".
The following day, Mr Walsh wrote to the FSAI chairman, Dr Danny O'Hare, also asking for a public correction.
Dr O'Hare replied a week later, assuring Mr Walsh that Dr Wall "does not believe that either you or your Department deliberately attempted to mislead the public in connection with the PFD scheme. While he did not make this contention on the RTE programme in question, he accepts that the thrust of his comments may have been open to misinterpretation."
In his letter, Dr O'Hare defended Dr Wall, noting he had the full confidence of the board.