Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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43. To ask the Minister for Social Protection whether the €100 payment in respect of water charges will be administered by means of a new scheme or an extension of an existing scheme; the annual administrative cost associated with the payment; if additional staff will be required to implement the scheme; the means by which persons will receive the payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45539/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 43 together.

The €100 water conservation grant for households that complete a valid response to Irish Water’s customer registration process will be a Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government scheme. That Department will be responsible for all aspects of policy in regard to the scheme, including eligibility. The Department of Social Protection will administer the grant on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

The water conservation grant replaces the tax rebate and social protection measures previously announced. The grant will be paid to the registered householders annually, in respect of their primary dwellings, with the first payment to be paid in September 2015 and each subsequent year up to and including 2018.

The Department of Social Protection is in consultation with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in regard to the administrative arrangements for the scheme including the staffing and funding required to administer it, and the means by which payments will be made. I have not commissioned a study or report to determine an estimate of those costs.