The battle is over for the derogation at 250kg N/ha, according to Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill, who says the next battle that needs to be won is keeping the current derogation at 220kg N/ha.

Deputy Cahill told the Irish Farmers Journal that the European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius is not for turning on the issue, having met with him in Brussels last week.

"In my view, I don't see the environment commissioner revisiting this. He was intransigent in his view that he wasn't taking the issue back to his committee in Brussels.

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"It's the next battle we have to win and that's what we have to focus on - winning that next battle," Cahill said at the Fianna Fáil think-in at the Horse and Jockey Hotel in Thurles on Monday.

Frustration

Cahill says he understands fully the frustration, adding that his own family dairy farm is in derogation.

The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, he added, has done the best he possibly can on this issue.

However, there is now a window where we can get water quality to show an improvement, and the industry can go back to Brussels with that in its armory in order to keep the current derogation.

"We have a review coming up in in 2026 which is not too far away and we have to show water quality improvement. We have to keep focused on that and keep monitoring our water quality and if we don't, it's gone," he said.