AN all out ban on Irish beef sales to Russia would have been a more dangerous precedent than the selective, short term agreement reached at the weekend, the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, asserted yesterday.
He was speaking against a background of rising anger in the industry and hostile political reaction to the agreement, even within his own party which yesterday sent a delegation to meet the Russian ambassador, Mr Nikolai Ivanovich.
The Dail is to hold a one day debate next week on the Russian, decision to ban beef from counties Cork, Tipperary and Monaghan.
The Department of Agriculture announced two new cases of the disease, one in Cork and the other in Monaghan, bringing the number of cases this year to 38 and the total to 153.
Mr Yates also revealed that the Russian delegation with which he had signed the £120 million deal had sought to exclude beef from seven counties.
The delegation which met the Russian ambassador was headed by Mr Paul Connaughton, chairman of Fine Gael's agricultural committee. It also included the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Lowry, the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Hugh Coveney and Mr Peter Barry. Ms Theresa Ahern TD said later they wanted to make known their strong views on the Russian decision.
Mr Lowry said the delegation, which included other TDs and senators from the affected counties, were not attempting to undermine the decision made by Mr Yates but to support him.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, agreed to the debate following a request from the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, on the Order of Business in the Dail yesterday.
Mr Yates said he did not expect that other countries buying beef from Ireland would follow the Russian example and seek to exclude areas of the country for supply.
He said he had rejected an Iranian demand that beef be supplied to it from specific areas in the Republic and he blamed France for starting the precedent of regionalisation, by offering to supply Russia with beef from areas of France where there is no BSE.
The farm organisations launched a bitter attack on Mr Yates and the IFA called on him to implement an action plan to restore Ireland's national BSE strategy and redress the present unsatisfactory situation in relation to Russia.
The ICMSA's livestock committee chairman, Mr Nicholas Ryan, said the protocol Mr Yates signed was not in Ireland's best interests and should be removed as quickly as possible.
The Irish Cattle Traders' and Stockowners' Association strongly pleaded that innocent beef farmers had been isolated and singled out for unjust treatment.
Cork has had 40 cases of BSE since the disease was first identified in the Republic. Tipperary has had eight and Monaghan five. However, the Russians based their ban on cases this year - Cork has had 10 and the other two counties four each.