Ireland needs to brace itself for a possible fresh outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, experts have warned the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh.
A mixture of complacency and the re-emergence of the disease in the UK, as well as a "marked deterioration in bio-security", was causing grave disquiet, the Minister said at the weekend.
The message from the expert group, which met some days ago following further foot-and-mouth outbreaks in the UK, was to "be prepared for an outbreak", Mr Walsh said.
The hope was that, having regained disease-free status, Ireland would be able to retain it, the Minister said. But he added: "We are worried because of the re-emergence in Britain. It's obviously virulent. It's obviously very active. "What's most disquieting is the re-emergence in areas where it had been eradicated."
The re-emergence in the UK was due to carelessness, he said. Because of the interaction between the two countries, Ireland would have to continue to be especially careful. Vigilance at ports, airports and other points of entry would have to be maintained.
Mr Walsh told delegates at the conference of the Irish Auctioneers' and Valuers' Institute in Tralee at the weekend that a warning had gone out to all relevant national, heritage, tourism and angling bodies. This applied to all gatherings and events which attracted large numbers of people.
The IAVI conference, which had originally been scheduled for April, was postponed because of the restrictions which were in force at that time.
"The fact of the matter is that we have become complacent. We have a laissez-faire attitude," Mr Walsh said.
While the Minister had praise for voluntary and sporting bodies and for the "maturity" shown in the Dail by all parties coming together to combat the disease, he said there was no doubt that vigilance had slipped.
Mr Tom Parlon, president of the IFA, conceded that initial concern had waned and that there had been some slackening in precautions at farms. However, most farmers were still conscious of the threat. He was particularly concerned about car rallies, which drew large contingents from the UK.
"The real threat is not of an airborne virus coming out of the sky any more", Mr Parlon said. "There is a real likelihood now of people coming from a farm and landing in Kerry."
The IFA wanted to see prosecutions, Mr Parlon said. Nobody in the food industry and no farmers or Department of Agriculture personnel who might have "turned a blind eye" had been prosecuted yet, he said.
Mr Walsh insisted that people would be prosecuted for breaches of the regulations on traceability and proper identification. These regulations were not negotiable and could not be ignored.
The Minister ruled out compensation for marts which, he was reminded, had to pay staff while they remained closed.
Meanwhile, a number of tourist trails remain closed. A spokesman said that the Department of Tourism was not imposing any new restrictions but was asking people from infected areas in the UK not to travel to Ireland.
On the angling front, while the vast majority of all coarse fisheries are open to anglers, some restrictions on British anglers bringing in bait are still in force. The Department of Agriculture last week lifted the ban on live worms from the UK. Maggots are still banned, however, as is ground bait.
Many managed lakes and rivers in the South-Western Regional Fisheries Board area remain closed.
A review of the Duchas procedures covering heritage sites, all of which were closed during the foot-and-mouth outbreak, is to take place next week.