MEP MacManus also expressed his belief that the party can claim two seats in the constituency.

Rape was excluded from the new directive on combating violence against women, after EU states failed to agree on a definition of the term.

The proposal forms part of an overhaul on driving license rules across the EU.

The list covers professions which employers can hire staff from outside the EU.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will be joined by Fine Gael Government Ministers to discuss a range of issues including ‘Farming and the next Generation’, and the EU and Food Security.

He said farmers with 'peaty' land applying for the BISS, or single farm payment, would be most affected by the proposed restrictions.

Minister Burke attended an EU General Affairs council meeting yesterday in the Belgian capital.

Deputy Fitzmaurice says the fallout is part of a larger problem in the EU.