Article by Fliuch, August 21, 2015
As things stand you must register as a customer of Irish Water Ltd to qualify for the grant.
You must then provide your PPSN and bank account details to the company working on behalf of the Department of Social Protection who will then cross check with Irish Water Ltd that you have indeed registered at which point you qualify for the grant.
You do not have to pay the bill to get the grant.
However, bear in mind you have now knowingly entered into a contract with Irish Water Ltd.
The legislation is already in place to make paying the bill mandatory to qualify for the grant.
Getting the grant without paying applies this year only (2015-2016).
The Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 has a section dealing with water charges, it contains some very harsh measures for non-payment and provides for linking payment of the grant to payment of the bill.