Mr. John McCarthy:

Under the legislation the first hurdle which must be passed is that a household has to make a valid response to the Irish Water registration process. This can include both customers and non-customers, because households have to declare if they are not a customer or if they are a part-customer, depending on whether they have a water or wastewater service. This is the first requirement. The Act also provides for the making of regulations which will determine any other eligibility issues. These regulations will have to be made in the coming months and will involve the specifying of a date by which that response to Irish Water will have to have been made, in order that the process involving the Department of Social Protection can move on in terms of making the payment in September.