A chara, - It is an absolute disgrace for the media and politicians to be referring to the possible outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease as a "national emergency". We're not talking about floods, starvation, an invasion of locusts, earthquakes or devastating forest fires. We're talking about a disease that does not affect humans, of which only 5 per cent of the animals would be likely to die, a disease from which most animals recover after two to three weeks. We're talking about an economic discomfort, which respected economists estimate would affect the growth rate by only 0.5 per cent!
For God's sake, millions of people in the Third World still die from diarrhoea and homeless people on the streets of Dublin have nowhere to go. And then some people have the nerve to refer to a cattle disease as a national emergency. Shame on you!
And to advise people to stay away from the countryside is really pathetic. More people commute from the countryside to their jobs in Dublin and other cities every day than go from the cities to the countryside at weekends. Is the Minister for Agriculture implying that people from country areas should stay at home - and if so will he refund my employer for losses incurred, just like no doubt thousands of farmers will get even more compo? Pathetic. - Is mise,
Maj-Britt Christensen, Glenealy, Co Wicklow.
Sir, - Drapier is right (The Irish Times, March 3rd): blame for the foot-and-mouth crisis will soon pass from Britain to Dublin. But will that criticism - or the disease itself - really be the greatest crisis in the history of the State, as Joe Walsh claims?
More so than the second World War or 3,000 political murders? Hardly. Foot-and-mouth has spread throughout Britain, is already in Ireland and Germany, and has been endemic in the Middle East and Africa. The EU will soon have to stop treating it like the Black Death, and replace hysteria with a sensible programme of vaccination, inspection and compensation. After that, the real price of Western European food will certainly rise, but Irish farming should pull through. - Yours, etc.,
Bill McComish, Parkdale Road, London SE18.
Sir, - What proportion of cases of foot-and-mouth has been caused by the movement of persons who are not intimately involved with animals? In other words, what evidence is there that walkers, boaters and anglers have ever spread the virus? - Yours, etc.,
Brian J. Goggin, Stradbally North, Co Limerick.
Sir, - I have my doubts about how serious the Government is about taking effective action to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease to the 26 counties. I have heard daily sound-bites on the State TV channels about the measures to prevent contamination from the UK and the North, including pictures of long queues at Garda checkpoints on Border crossings. However, my mother based in Derry city tells me that, to buy free-range eggs, she can still visit farms in Donegal that have no disinfected mats at their entrances. How many small farmers are not abiding by the recommended precautions of the Department of Agriculture? This is very worrying for farming and the economy as a whole. - Yours, etc.,
Helena Guinevan, Lucan, Co Dublin.