THE Government has approved extra resources to provide an intensified level of controls" along the Border in an attempt to prevent cattle being smuggled into the Republic from the North.
Following a lengthy Cabinet debate yesterday on the implications of the British BSE crisis for the Irish beef industry, a Government spokesman said a major advertising campaign would also be launched by Bord Bia to reassure consumers at home and abroad on the safety of Irish beef.
Efforts by the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, to persuade President Mubarak of Egypt to withdraw his presidential decree banning EU products will be made today, according to the spokesman.
Government sources indicated on Monday night that the Taoiseach was making arrangements to telephone President Mubarak and King Hussein of Jordan to facilitate the passage of Irish beef to the Arab world.
Yesterday a spokesman said the Cabinet meeting and Dail Question Time had prevented the Taoiseach from making telephone contact, but last night he confirmed that a call would take place today.
Veterinary officers from the Department of Agriculture have left for the Middle East, and arrangements are being made for other markets to be visited in the coming days.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, told the Dail he would be contacting his Iranian counterpart today. He confirmed that he had already signed the EU ban on British beef, and he darned that any animals being smuggled into the State by "rogues" would be destroyed.
He conceded that an effective marketing campaign abroad would cost "tens of millions of pounds" but he would give extra resources to promote Ireland's case among key buyers.
However, the opposition remained unconvinced, and the Fianna Fail spokesman on agriculture, Mr Brian Cowen, called on the Government to "get its act together. . . It is all over the place and showing no urgency".
Calling for the establishment of a special Cabinet sub committee to tackle the problem, he said an intensive information campaign should be launched, while the Taoiseach should "embark on a political initiative, going to those markets which require reassurance that no risks exist".
Mr Des O'Malley, of the Progressive Democrats, said the key to success for the Irish beef industry lay in quality assurance and customer assurance. However, a favourable image was "useless without proper verification standards".
The Department's record on policing the beef industry left a lot to be desired, he said. He called for the establishment of a national agency, independent of the Department, to oversee food hygiene and quality.