Irish Water has said householders need to get to get in touch if they have moved home since they paid their water charges.
The utility is to process the refunding of 990,000 customers who paid the levies. A cheque will be issued to each homeowner by the end of the year. Eamon Gallen, the company's head of customer operations, said it was a significant challenge.
“Crucially, we are reliant on them telling us if their details have changed since the last time they contacted us, so we encouraging anyone who has moved or changed their personal details to contact us as soon as possible, to provide up-to-date information. It is inevitable that some refunds could be delayed if information is not updated.”
The Cabinet last week agreed to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations of the Oireachtas committee on domestic water charges, which will allow for the refunds. Those legal changes are to be debated in the Dáil this week.
The refunds will cost €173 million, plus €5 million in administration costs. Households will receive up to €325 each.
A public information campaign will be launched, and additional staff taken on, to support the process. Irish Water has a callsave helpline at 1850-448448 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5.30pm), and more information at water.ie/for-home/refunds.
