Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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35. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on her Department's administration of the water conservation grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33031/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection, on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community, and Local Government (DECLG), is paying the €100 per annum Water Conservation Grant to households (primary dwellings) which registered their principal private residence with Irish Water by 30th June 2015. 1.3 million registrations were made by the deadline and Irish Water has transferred a file of registered households to this Department.

All of those registered households on that file will receive a letter by the end of September 2015, inviting them to apply for the Water Conservation Grant. The Water Conservation Grant application systems facilitate both online and phone applications from eligible persons. The 2015 application period opened on 19^thAugust 2015. The closing date for applications is 8th October 2015. As of 25 September 2015, just under 480,000 grant applications had been made.

Water Conservation Grant payments of €100 were made to 156,249 householders on 16 September 2015 to a value of €15,624,900. A second tranche of over 240,000 Water Conservation Grant payments are due to be made by 1 October 2015. Further payments will be made during October.