Any loss of the nitrates derogation would be a betrayal of farmers, IFA dairy chair Tom Phelan said at a meeting in Carlow on Tuesday.

“It was the Government who oversaw the blueprint for dairy expansion back in 2010,” he said. “It called for a 50% volume increase in dairying, and we delivered.” IFA environment executive Thomas Ryan said farmers had “a legitimate expectation” that the current nitrates directive, put in place until 2021, would not be altered before then. He urged farmers to forward submissions to the consultation process before Friday’s deadline. IFA environment chair Thomas Cooney called on the Department to adopt the positive mindset present in the Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (SSAP), which he described as “collaborative and voluntary”.