The Department of Agriculture has said that a sheep with suspicious symptoms has been discovered at the Irish Country Meats Plant in Navan, County Meath. The suspect animal came from a farm at Kilcogy, County Cavan. Because of the Aer Lingus dispute, there has been a delay in sending samples to be tested at the laboratory in Surrey and the results are not now expected until next week. A group of 25 workers at the ICM plant in Navan who would come in contact with farms outside of factory hours have been sent to a hotel in Navan where they will remain until the test results return. The Department repeated that they are "not worried" about the suspect animal in Navan.
In another development, Bord Fáilte has announced a campaign in Britain this weekend to try to reverse the sizeable reduction in holidaymakers coming here. It is estimated the tourist industry is facing losses of up to £500 million this year because of the foot and mouth outbreak. The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, which has welcomed the initiative, says that it will require a big promotional campaign in both Europe and the United States to salvage the upcoming season.
The scale of the problem facing Bord Fáilte can be seen in the latest predictions by the airline and ferry companies. Aer Lingus says that it fears incoming tourist numbers could fall by 20% over the next three months. Advance bookings on the UK routes are showing the most worrying trends. Stenna Sealink says that it is experiencing a 35% drop in the numbers of cars and passengers it is carrying on its cross channel services.
In a bid to reverse these trends, Bord Fáilte is to launch a major newspaper advertising campaign in Britain this weekend, assuring holidaymakers that Ireland's holiday destinations are open for business. Both Bord Fáilte and the Tourist Industry Confederation will also be asking people here to return to the countryside and to resume taking mid week and weekend breaks.
The Irish Hotels Federation says that it is particularly pleased that trade unions and professional organisations are now going ahead with their Easter Conferences, a move which will greatly help the industry. Car hire firm Budget Rent a Car, which has its headquarters in Roscommon, says that it is experiencing very strong bookings for the Easter period. It says that it appears that tourists who did not come here for St Patrick's weekend are now booking Easter holiday in Ireland.
