Extension to water conservation grant deadline announced

An extension to the deadline of the Water Conservation Grant due to the high volume of calls and applications and issues that arose concerning the postal delays earlier this week has been announced by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Alan Kelly, and the Tánaiste, Joan Burton.

Minister Kelly said: “The last few days have seen a very high number of applications for the Water Conservation Grant. Water conservation is one of the Government’s main objectives in reforming the public water system and I am keen to facilitate as many applications as possible for this conservation grant. Therefore, I have agreed with my colleague, Tánaiste Joan Burton, to allow applications for an extra two weeks. Households can apply online or by calling the Water Conservation Grant Support Team until Thursday, 22 October. I would urge all households who have not applied, whether they are Irish Water customers or not, but believe they are eligible for the grant, to apply as soon as possible and to avoid leaving it to the last minute.”

Tánaiste Joan Burton, whose Department of Social Protection is administering the grant on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government welcomed the extension. She said: “My Department and I are making arrangements to allow online applications and applications by phone for an additional two weeks. The Water Conservation Grant Support Team will continue to be resourced to deal with all calls or queries. If you believe you should have received a letter from my Department before the end of September and have not received one, I would encourage you to contact the Water Conservation Grant Support Team as soon as possible.”

Anyone with a query in relation to the Water Conservation Grant should contact the Water Conservation Grant Support Team in the first instance.

The new deadline for applications for the Water Conservation Grant is Thursday, 22 October 2015.

Households can apply online at www.watergrant.ie or by phoning the Water Conservation Grant Support Team on 076-1087890 or 1890 100043.

By 4pm on Thursday, 08 October, almost 800,000 households had applied for the Water Conservation Grant.  395,500 households have been paid the grant. Those who have applied by midnight last night will receive their payment in October.

To apply for the Water Conservation Grant, households must have: Irish Water customer account number/registration number; their Transaction Identification Number (TIN), available on the Water Conservation Grant letter from the Department of Social Protection; their Water Point Reference Number (WPRN), also available on the Water Conservation Grant letter from the Department of Social Protection; their Personal Public Service Number (PPSN); their bank or other financial institution account details.

Approximately 1.3 million letters have been issued by the Department of Social Protection, which is administering the grant on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Households that did not receive a letter, but who registered with Irish Water before 30 June 2015, should contact the Water Conservation Grant Support Team on 0761 - 087 890 / 1890 100 043.

The grant is to enable households to adopt a more sustainable approach to their use of water and wastewater services. Households are encouraged to use the grant on making improvements or repairs to home plumbing systems or investing in water saving devices, eg water butts, dual flush toilets, low-flow aerators. Householders could also use the grant for de-sludging their septic tank or maintaining their private well. When applying for the grant, applicants will be required to confirm that the dwelling for which they are making an application was their principal private residence on 30 June 2015.