Farmers in Ireland are "doing a lot", but "more needs to be done", the European Commissioner for the Environment has said, as Ireland's four-year derogation from the Nitrates Directive is due to expire at the end of the year.
Jessika Roswall, who is visiting Co Kildare today, said she has had "good discussions" for weeks and wanted to come to Ireland to "see with my own eyes" what was happening on the ground.
The Nitrates Directive is an EU law for farms that puts limits on the amount of fertiliser - including slurry - that farmers can use on their land, and effectively the number of livestock that they can have, to protect water from pollution by agriculture
The derogation is exclusive to Ireland and allows 7,000 farms to spread more fertiliser and have more animals than other farms in the EU, if Ireland improves the quality of water here.
Farmers and the Government say if it is not renewed, dairy farmers will need to spread out what cows they can keep over more land, costing too much money and making less food.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Roswall said farmers are "doing a lot" and are "very proud of what they are doing".
"A lot has been done but more needs to be done also," she said.
"Nobody wants to see uncertainty and that is what we want to accomplish when we discuss any new solution. It's important to find solution that is solid ... that is legally robust but also that complies with EU law."
Ms Roswall said the water quality in Ireland is generally good and is "better than some places in Europe" but there are still challenges in some parts of Ireland.
She said that while a decision regarding the derogation will not be made today, she is "optimistic" that she, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and the Government will find a solution "that is in good faith".
She said it is "always important to have farmers on board" and she understands that they are in a "difficult situation".
She said they need to see progress, solutions, and that all EU law is complied with.
"Everybody understands that we need to have clean water and to protect our environment because if we don't do that we don't have farming ... but we also need to see that our rules are possible to implement," she said.
"The derogation, which gives some flexibility, needs to comply with the environmental law that we have all over."
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Earlier this week, Minister Heydon said "we are reaching endgame" on the renewal of the derogation.
He said his officials are putting together a proposal in relation to the habitats directive, which is part of the criteria for being granted a derogation.
He said that the additional administrative costs of that will be borne by the Department of Agriculture.
IFA President Francie Gorman has said that farmers are not looking for a free pass but they do want fair play.
He said there is a huge issues with planning in the country and farmers who apply for slurry storage are subject to serial objectors holding up the project.
This needs to be addressed, he added.
Mr Gorman said a situation where "7,000 dairy farmers could left to hang out to dry" cannot be countenanced.
