The Department of Social Protection has confirmed it is to contact registered households with Irish Water, to invite them to apply for the water conservation grant.

It says that this process will begin tomorrow.

The Department of Social Protection is administering the grant on behalf of the Department of the Environment.

It says every householder who has registered their residence with Irish Water by June 30th will receive a letter inviting them to apply "in the coming weeks".

The closing date for applications is October 8th.

The grant application systems will facilitate both online and phone applications from those who are eligible.

The department add that people will be asked to provide their PPS numbers when applying for the payment, and that there is no application form.

The first payments are expected to be issued to customers’ nominated bank accounts in mid-September, with all payments expected to be made by the end of October.