An Taoiseach Simon Harris is to create and lead a cabinet committee on water quality to steer a national effort to retain the nitrates derogation.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands he is expected to tell Thursday’s IFA farming and food conference that he will do all he can to retain and protect the derogation, including working with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

In a bid to secure the farmer vote in the upcoming general election, the Fine Gael leader is planning to tell farmers that the nation will have to “pull on the green jersey” to retain the derogation. It is expected that the committee will include senior cabinet ministers across different departments tasked with retaining the recently reduced derogation.

Harris will say: “I have zero tolerance for buck-passing or parts of Government working in silos when they need to work together in the national interest.”