Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has raised nitrates derogation concerns in a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this week.

The Fianna Fáil MEP said that "there should not be any preconditions to the retention of the derogation" and accused the commission of "moving the goalposts".

Ní Mhurchú has raised "serious concerns" on the idea of subjecting farmers to assessments under the EU Habitats Directive before granting a nitrates derogation.

Ní Mhurchú said that Ireland’s retention of the nitrates directive "should not come with preconditions and that our continual improvement of water quality is in itself, justification for the continued application of the derogation".

Ní Mhurchú highlighted the "success that the farming community in Ireland has had in reducing nitrate levels in Irish waterways".

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine revealed last week that the European Commission has told Ireland it “must demonstrate compliance” with the Habitats Directive when granting farmers a nitrates derogation.

This will form part of the conditions Ireland will have to meet to retain the nitrates derogation after 2026, it is understood.

This meeting between the commission president and Fianna Fáil MEPs in Brussels comes ahead of a significant announcement on Wednesday, July 16.

It looks likely that the new budget for the EU, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which will be revealed tomorrow, will condense funding for the post-2027 CAP into one single fund.

Ní Mhurchú added that she will be joining Irish Farmers' Association president Francie Gorman and director general Damian McDonald at a protest in Brussels on Wednesday.

Farmers across Europe are expected to descend on the streets of Brussels tomorrow, with Copa and Cogeca holding a "symbolic march of European farming on the EU budget and the future CAP".