Relief on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth when tests for Foot and Mouth on suspect sheep prove negative.
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern visits the Department of Agriculture's Foot and Mouth Control Centre in Ballymascanlon near Dundalk, County Louth. He uses the visit to attack the actions of smugglers who may have caused the crisis. He is horrified that,
For what looks on the face of it relatively small money that can risk an industry that has 20 million susceptible animals in this country.
At St Mary's Church Lordship in Ravensdale, County Louth, parishioners are overjoyed when preliminary results from tests for foot and mouth disease on suspect sheep from the nearby farm of Tony Keenan prove negative.
A local man declares the news,
The best in this part of the county in a long time, it’s great, wonderful.
A woman adds,
We said a prayer to St Oliver Plunkett for good results and the next was we heard that all was clear.
Farmer Kevin Keenan believes the negative result is a much need boost to the farmers and people of the area.
Hopefully now we’ll be able to hold onto our stock of cattle and sheep.
Farmer Tony Keenan believes the authorities are investigating how the foot and mouth threat came to the Cooley Peninsula and An Garda Síochána will prevent it from happening again.
We can all get back to work hopefully.
On a note of caution there remains the possibility of a positive result returning from tests on tissue samples from a farm in Peamount, County Louth. President of the Irish Farmers' Association Tom Parlon says if farmers have any foot and mouth concerns, there is an option for them to cull their stock voluntarily.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 30 March 2001. The reporter is Ciarán Mullooly.
