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Updated 6.48pm
IRISH WATER HAS confirmed that people will not be fined for failing to register to pay water charges by midnight.
The Environment Minister Alan Kelly said tonight’s deadline “is really an administrative date for Irish Water”.
Speaking on the News at One on RTÉ this afternoon, he said:
“If you’re registered by today Irish Water will guarantee that you will be sent the right bill. If you’re not registered well then there’s no guarantee they can do so.”
Kelly also stated, “There are no penalties if you are not registered – basically you will be charged the full €260.”
However that was different to the message given by Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins on Morning Ireland this morning. She said there was “no clarity” on whether people would face financial penalties for non or late registration.
Alan Kelly also confirmed that the deadline will be extended for people to apply for the €100 water conservation grant:
“If you’re going to get the water conservation grant of €100 you will have to register with Irish Water and that will be a necessity to do so – at a later date in the summer there will be an administrative deadline in relation to that.”
Asked what will happen if somebody doesn’t pay for their bills in April, the Minister said:
After 15 months of non payment people will be charged either €30 on top of their bill if they’re an individual household or €60 if they’re another household.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Six One News, the Minister said that there has been a ‘massive spike’ in the number of people registering in recent weeks, and he expects thousands more to do so by tonight, and then over the coming weeks.
He said the slow rate at which the public is registering – and the large numbers who don’t intend to – isn’t a worry.
“It doesn’t threaten the [financial] viability of Irish Water,” he said, noting the ability to borrow on international markets.
But will it past the necessary market tests? “I am very confident,” Kelly said.
Thousands of people took part in anti-water charge protests across the country over the weekend and Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald again encouraged the public not to pay this morning.
Lorraine Higgins said she “wouldn’t be throwing around the populist line” of “advocating breaking the law like Mary Lou”.
Higgins also added that she expects “legislation to be brought in over the course of this month where it’ll be possible to put a charge on property, where it’ll also be possible for landlords to bill tenants and take it out of their deposits” in the event of non-payment.
So far, over 1 million people have returned forms (although not all are customers), leaving 835,000 households remaining.
Irish Water says it will continue to accept forms after the deadline tonight- but that homes run the risk of not being charged accurately when the first bills arrive in April.
Additional reporting by Nicky Ryan and Órla Ryan
Originally published: 7.34am
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30 people is hardly much of a “study” this reads more like an add than a serious article
There’s also no controls; all couples are taking the supplement, all are also follow a healthy lifestyle…. and it’s being run by a nutritional supplements manufacturer, for feck sake!
Also, if this is the first study of its kind, why are they already selling it?
Seems like an add this article more than likely giving false hope to couples. When people are desperate they more than likely try anything. It is interesting to see no price in the article so I bet there is a nice price tag.
You’re spot on there Declan. You may also notice that they say that 12 couples who were taking the supplement went on to conceive but they conveniently neglect to tell us how many couples didn’t conceive.
Your right there Declan I just checked out their website €170. As you said desperate couples will try anything, I know I was one of hose propel till 22mths ago. I had a lot of trouble conceiving and tbh if I had been told to sacrifice a cat on the full moon I’d of done it. But I think it was was once we started taking better care of ourselves,better diet exercising more etc and using ovulation kits. That did it for us now we did take pregncare supplements as €24:99 for 30 days so who knows
* one of those people* my little girl helped me write that comment
Dear Author, this isn’t a clinical trial, it is an advertising campaign. It would help if you knew what a clinical trial involved before writing an article.
A clinical trial would involve
1. A sound biological basis for the study
2. Lots of evidence in animals etc to show that this “treatment” worked
3. Ethical approval – what happens if these pills make you sterile, or worse, cause harmful birth defects? Is the company insured against this?
4. Some level of medical input.
5. A control group
Please don’t write advertising pieces in the guise of reporting. It shows you either know nothing about medical trials, or that the journal is being paid to place advertisements posing as articles.
I agree this is a demo if anything.
If this were to be a proper trial 1 control, 1 placebo and the product
Galway…. I just love the white. Me & the burd absolutely shovelling the stuff into uz
We took the vitabiotics pregnacare, you can get them in every chemists, there’s ones for woman, couples ,pregnant women and breastfeeding mums. It’s a fairly common one. I have no idea if they helped. I truly feel it was eating healthier and doing to ovulation kit that helped us . Saying that we didn’t go crazy with taking temps etc. I got pee- strips online and used them , didn’t spend a fortune on digital stuff. I think baby making has become a huge cashcow of a business like weddings. Put the word bridal in front of something ie bridal shoes and you can charge through the nose for a white satin pair of shoes. My doctor did warn my not to put too much faith in supplements , he felt if we had a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle that we should need a supplement,told I was making expensive pee because at the end of the day your body is only gonna absorb what it needs.
“Over the 90-day trial each couple will take pre-Conceive daily – which is on sale already nationwide – and will also follow a healthy lifestyle regime.”
Well this certainly sounds like a flawlessly designed clinical study! Upon completion, we’re definitely going to know exactly what made the difference. Since this is “Europe’s first clinical study on how nutritional supplements can help fertility in both men and women” I suppose we can also expect to find out that both men and women should pay out for this expensive and remarkable product!
Wanna raise T? Zinc, magnesium supplements and Brazil nuts will make your lad as hard as a horse’s hoof. Believe me it’s fabulous.
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