Refusal to pay will lead to legal action and direct deductions as first water bills arrive

Households who refuse to pay Irish Water bills, which begin arriving today, will be pursued through the courts and have the debt removed directly from their payslips under measures to be signed off on by Cabinet this month.

The warning comes as the first Irish Water bills drop through letterboxes in Donegal, Meath and Wexford this morning.

Over 1.7 million bills totalling €70m will be sent to households across the country over the next eight weeks — with Irish Water billing €271m over the next year.