The first bills from Irish Water will arrive at homes at the end rather than beginning of January after the utility company was granted an extension to its sign-up period.
The Commission for Energy Regulation today said it had accepted a proposal from Irish Water to allow an extra month for the registration period, which was due to end next Friday. The sign-up deadline is now November 30th.
The commission said the move would result in the first bills for water issuing to to households at the end of January.
The assessed bills, covering the period from October 1st to December 31st, were originally expected to issue at the start of January.
Irish Water welcomed the decision with managing director John Tierney saying he wished to “thank our customers for their patience during this extremely busy period”.
He said the first bills “will include household and children free allowances provided that people apply by the end of November.”
Mr Tierney, who received the backing of Taoiseach Enda Kenny this week amid speculation about the security of his position, said Irish Water was “working towards the safeguarding of water as a precious natural resource and to deliver water services in a way that protects the environment and meets the needs of all communities and the economy”.
Irish Water said that “over 747,000 householders have responded” to the registration campaign.
Asked if this meant that 747,000 people had signed up for the charges, an Irish Water spokeswoman said the majority of that number had “validated” their accounts.
Irish Water said 464,000 meters had been installed to date and that this was ahead of the year-end target of 450,000.
An Oireachtas committee meeting earlier this week heard that some 70,000 calls a week were being received by the utility. Additional staff have been put in place to ensure the high volume of customer calls are dealt with quickly, Irish Water said.
Tánaiste Joan Burton told the Dáil yesterday that the original timeline for water charges was “too ambitious”, while Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Government would provide clarity on changes to the water charging system “in the next few weeks”.
There has been speculation that the assessed billing period - orignially expected to be in place until next summer for all households - could be extended until late 2016 when the majority of meters have been installed.
Government TDs told parliamentary party meetings earlier this week that some families were concerned they would face annual water bills of up to €900.
Under the charges regimes a water allowance of 30,000 litres is being provided for every household. A further 21,000 litres is offered for every child for whom child benefit is being received. Customers must register with Irish Water to claim these allowances.
A household without a septic tank will require a water-in and waste water-out package and will pay a basic charge of €4.88 per 1,000 litres until the end of 2016. Those who just require water-in will pay €2.44 per 1,000 litres.
Under the fixed charge regime a household of two adults and two children would pay €278.16 on an annual basis for their water when allowances are taken into account, which works out at €69.54 per quarter.
A person who lives alone would pay €175.68 after their free allowance, or €43.92 every three months, while two adults sharing would pay €278.16, or €69.54 per quarter.
