There was no link between three cases of the human version of mad-cow disease confirmed to date in the State, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has said.
A statement from the HSE said the three cases, where the victims either lived in or had links to the south Dublin/Wicklow area, had been examined and that it was confident they were not linked and "do not represent a cluster".
"Specialists in Public Health Medicine in the Dublin area have looked into any possible link between the cases and have concluded that the cases aren't likely to be connected," a statement said.
The statement added: "The HSE, the National Expert Group on vCJD and the National vCJD Surveillance Unit at Beaumont Hospital will as part of its routine monitoring of incidence of this condition keep all available details under review."
Dublin county coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty told an inquest earlier this month he was aware of a young man from Bray who was suffering from the disease, bringing to three the number of vCJD cases with a link to the area.
Dr Geraghty said he planned to write to both the Minister for Health and the Minister for Agriculture suggesting that they investigate the possibility of a geographical link between the cases.
He was speaking at the inquest into the death of Jason Moran (24), from Shankill, Co Dublin, who died last June from vCJD.
Returning a verdict of misadventure in the case, the coroner also noted that the first Irish victim of vCJD, Ms Kay Turner from Co Offaly, had family links to Ballybrack, Co Dublin.
Sources in the Department of Health and Children told The Irish Timesearlier this month that evidence of a cluster of vCJD cases was "pretty slim".