Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Under section 5, eligible householders are to be provided with an annual water conservation grant, as we all know. It is to assist with water conservation, despite the Deputies' commentary.

8 o’clock

The Government has decided the annual grant should be €100 per household. The estimated cost of this grant is €130 million.

The section provides that to be eligible for the grant in 2015, a household shall have provided the information on the water supply to their dwelling to Irish Water and any necessary information required by the Minister for Social Protection. The section also provides for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to prescribe a date by which households should register with Irish Water, details of the water supply and wastewater treatment. The section also provides that a person resident in a nursing home or other residential care facility would be eligible to claim the grant in respect of his or her own house provided the house is not rented to another person.

The response to this grant, particularly in rural areas where people have paid for water for decades - many Members in this House represent those people - is quite good.

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