Business leaders in Galway have indicated the foot-and-mouth crisis had cost the city and county more than £36 million in lost tourism - prior to yesterday's confirmation of the first case in the State.
A spokesperson for the Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the county was now facing a crisis with confirmation of an outbreak in the Republic, and the future of some small tourism-dependent businesses was in question.
The tourism industry in the county is worth in excess of £290 million per annum, but bookings were already down 20 per cent since the crisis began last month.