The Department of Agriculture is considering "some slight modification" to animal quarantine laws after today's lifting of restrictions on animals entering the UK from mainland Europe.
Although quarantine restrictions remain here, animals can now enter the State without going into quarantine by passing through the UK.
A spokesman for the Department said the changes in the law will be made soon. In the meantime animals entering Ireland from outside the UK must be kept in quarantine for six months.
Under the new British "passports for pets" scheme animals entering the UK now have to have a blood test, a health certificate, vaccinations against rabies and other diseases, and be fitted with a microchip.
The system will operate on a pilot basis for one year and only applies to animals travelling through the Dover and Portsmouth ferryports, Heathrow Airport and through the Channel Tunnel.