Water refunds trickle out from today

WATER refunds will begin to be paid from today, after President Michael D Higgins signed the Water Services Bill into law at the weekend.

Delays in passing the legislation, which finally got out of the Seanad last week, mean that substantial numbers of households will not get their refunds until 2018, despite an earlier pledge by the Taoiseach that the vast majority of people would be repaid by Christmas.

‘The Water Services Bill finally got through and that means water refunds can begin on Monday,’ Leo Varadkar said in his weekly message to supporters.

‘You’ll be able to get details online of when you’ll get your refund, on the Irish Water website.’

Nearly a million customers will be paid by cheque, depending on how much they paid – with thousands ceasing to pay after it became clear that the billing regime would be scrapped.

A refund checker will go live on the Irish Water website today to allow customers to see how much they are due and when they can expect their refund.

Account-holders who have moved to a new address can still update their details by calling 1850 448 448 to supply new information.

Customers can also use their identifier numbers to view their previous water bills and payments, and check that the utility has the correct contact details for refunds.