There were two more cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) confirmed this week by the Department of Agriculture and Food.
The new cases bring the total number of animals found to have the disease so far this year to 161 which is a sharp decline on the figures for the same time last year when there were 295 cases recorded.
The new cases this week were in an eight-year-old dairy animal in a Co Cork dairy herd and a cow of a similar age in a dairy farm in Co Waterford.
Both animals were identified using the active surveillance programme which was initiated in July 2000 to test for the disease in sick or dead animals brought to knackeries.
The system was extended in January 2001 to test all cattle over 30 months destined for human consumption.
Since then, nearly 1.9 million tests have been carried out in all the categories and since the middle of last year there has been a steady decline in the number of animals being detected with the disease.
The Department of Agriculture and Food said this is because of controls to prevent contaminated meat-and-bonemeal being fed to cattle.