While the farm organisations reacted with disappointment to the limited lifting of foot-and-mouth farm restrictions, there was a broad welcome from sporting and tourism groups to the end of the ban on fishing, hill-walking and pony trekking from May 11th.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, had been expected to announce a greater freeing of tight controls on animal movements yesterday and the farm organisations had expected to be allowed to move animals from farm to farm.
Mr Walsh said he had that under review but, because of the outbreaks of the disease in the North, they had to take a very cautious approach and he could not take the risk of allowing such movements.
"If we move too soon we would squander the sacrifices made by so many people in this country over the last nine weeks, and farm-to-farm movement is a highly dangerous activity in relation to the disease." Following consultation with the expert group which advises him on controls, the Minister said he was prepared to allow the movement of stock bulls from one holding to another for breeding purposes.
He said farmers would also be allowed to move cattle from one part of their farm to another if the farm was a fragmented holding and that from May 9th, the movement of cattle from feed lots back to their home farms would be allowed.
All these movements would be allowed only if proper protocols were observed and permits had been granted by the local district veterinary office.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association president, Mr Pat O'Rourke, said thousands of farmers would be bitterly disappointed and surprised that the Minister had not allowed farm-to-farm sales.
"I believe that a controlled system of movement from farm to farm under permit would not present a threat to the health of the national herd and would alleviate many welfare, feeding and financial problems on Irish farms," he said.
Mr Tom Parlon, president of the Irish Farmers' Association, said the limited easing of restrictions on animal movement was only a small respite from the stocking crisis on many farmers where there was an unsustainable build-up of stock.
He said there were "impossible pressures" building up on farms with fodder used up, no income to buy feed, and no farm-to-farm movement.
The Macra na Feirme president, Mr T.J. Maher, said the announcement would do little to alleviate a lot of problems on farms and with no trading of livestock, farmers with excess stock would continue to experience huge difficulty.
Mr Walsh said the Department was still awaiting test results from the Pirbright Laboratory in London on sheep samples from counties Cork, Leitrim and Louth and that 65 herds in the Republic were still being restricted.
He also defended the Department's action on smuggling and said that since 1996, 1,586 cattle had been seized. Files were being compiled to prosecute a number of people arising out of the recent finds in Tipperary.
Last year there had been 23 prosecutions and five seizures of animals.