The Minister for Agriculture Joe Walshe has insisted the mass slaughter of cattle to rid the country of BSE is progressing well, although he admitted farmers were reacting cautiously to the plan.
Minister Walshe was speaking amid reports of a slow response to the scheme, which is set to cull about 25,000 animals each week.
The Minister welcomed the general reaction to the scheme from farmers, saying that there had been no panic or stampede, but that it was moving in an orderly fashion.