Irish Water: More than 1 million households have signed up

Irish Water has today announced that more than one million households have registered their details with the company.

With billing due to begin in April, application forms from more than 1.065 million of the estimated 1.9 million households in the State, have been returned, the company said.

This includes approximately 35,000 forms which were returned incomplete or with a message of protest, a spokesperson stated.

“Approximately 79% of those are on the public water main and therefore customers of Irish Water,” said a statement. “This represents over 56% of the total customer base.

“As of midnight tomorrow, the default charge of €260 [per year] applies to household who have yet to confirm their details.”

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Irish Water has urged households who have not yet confirmed their details to do so now to avail of the €100 Water Conservation Grant.

“All households across the country are entitled to the conservation grant - even those who are already paying for water services through their own group scheme or a well,” the statement read.

“To qualify for the grant all householders need to confirm their details with Irish Water. The Department of Social Protection will administer the grant on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.”

Commenting on today’s announcement, John Tierney, managing director of Irish Water said: “Creating a national database of customers on the public water network for the first time is significant and we would like to thank people for confirming their details.

“We are now in the final stages of preparation for billing to the 1.5 million households on the public water network. This is an enormous challenge and nothing of this scale has previously been undertaken."

Those wishing to confirm their details can do so on water.ie or by calling the LoCall number 1890 448 448 and using the application number and pin on the pack posted to them.