A dispute involving vets who work in meat processing factories could disrupt supplies of beef, lamb and pork in the run up to Christmas.
Strike notice by members of Veterinary Ireland expires tomorrow, but no action is expected before next week.
The vets are in dispute with the Department of Agriculture over a plan to allow technical agricultural officers and industry staff, rather than vets, to carry out meat inspections.
About 700 temporary veterinary officers have been carrying out the inspections up to now.
The inspections cost about €18m annually, and the Department wants to cut the cost by replacing the vets with lower paid officials.
The temporary vets are contracted from private practice on a rota basis.
The inspections involve checking meat quality, and sampling for any contamination.
The supply of turkeys is not expected to be affected, as most of the temporary vets are employed in beef plants.
