Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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55. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the administrative costs incurred in 2015 of implementing the water conservation grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1725/16]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection is administering the Water Conservation Grant on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community, and Local Government. The administration and payment of this grant is a significant project for the Department and required the development and implementation of ICT systems, ICT infrastructure and various customer support and communications services.

The total administration costs to 31 December 2015 were €5,782,035.42. These included both the once-off setup costs and the operational costs for 2015. All costs in relation to the set-up and administration of the Water Conservation Grant are being recouped from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in line with existing procedures in this regard. Every effort has been made to maximise efficiencies and keep costs to the absolute minimum. In this regard, the Department has reused existing payment production systems to facilitate payment of the grant. It is also intended that the ICT infrastructure put in place for this project will be reused for the provision of online services in the future.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the amount spent on the water conservation grant and the number of claimants, by county in 2015 and the amount and estimated number of claimants in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1733/16]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection is administering the Water Conservation Grant on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community, and Local Government. A total of 887,010 householders have been paid the 2015 Water Conservation Grant to date. These payments amount to €88,701,000. A small number of residual applications from householders who meet the 2015 eligibility criteria continue to be processed.

The total administration costs to 31 December 2015 were €5,782,035.42. These included both the once-off setup costs and the operational costs for 2015. All costs in relation to the set-up and administration of the Water Conservation Grant are being recouped from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in line with existing procedures in this regard. Every effort has been made to maximise efficiencies and keep costs to the absolute minimum. In summary, the total amount spend on the 2015 Water Conservation Grant to date is €94,483,035.42.

The Water Conservation Grant is a key element of the Government's drive to promote conservation and more sustainable use of water services in the home. Regulations will be made in due course under Section 5 of the Water Services Act 2014 to set down the particulars of the 2016 grant scheme including the application process and eligibility criteria. On the basis of the administration of the 2015 grant scheme, a figure of €110 million has been provided for the 2016 grant scheme in the 2016 Revised Estimates for Public Services.

The following table provides the number of applications processed as of 12 January, 2016 on a county basis.