Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has said tonight's deadline for householders to register with Irish Water is an administrative date and "not a line in the sand."
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr Kelly said the deadline will allow the company to guarantee that registered customers will receive the correct bill.
Mr Kelly confirmed that there are no penalties for non registration with Irish Water.
He added that customers who do not register will be charged the standard fee of €260 for a household of two or more adults.
He said if a customer misses the deadline and registers later on, they will receive a rebate in their second bill if it is appropriate.
"Today is not a line in the sand. I've already said previously in the last few weeks, it's not a drop dead date," he added.
"What we're really trying to tell people is that if they're not registered by today, there's no guarantee that your bill will be accurate when they come out in April, May or June of this year."
Mr Kelly said householders who wish to receive the €100 Water Conservation Grant will have to register with Irish Water and there will a separate administrative deadline in relation to that later this summer.
He said penalties will apply further down the line if a customer persists in not paying their water charge.
The minister said after 15 months of non-payment, customers will be charged either €30 or €60 on top of their bills, depending on the level of charge that applies to them.
Irish Water has also said there are no penalties for not registering with the company by the midnight deadline tonight but those who do not may face a higher charge.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, spokesperson Elizabeth Arnett said if people fail to confirm their details Irish Water will make an assumption that they are on a standard charge of €260.
Ms Arnett said households who fail to register will be unable to apply to the Department of Social Protection for grant.
"We will make an assumption that you are on a standard charge, in other words that you have more than two adults in the household and that you have both water and waste water services, and in that respect your bill would be €260.
"You may need to have a lower charge than that, we can't determine that unless you've contacted us and similarly in terms of the €100 conservation grant unless your details have been confirmed with us you won't be able to apply to the Department of Social Protection for that grant".
She also said if people fail to pay their first four quarterly bills a sanction will follow.
Ms Arnett said that 30,000 households registered with Irish Water over the weekend, and she appealed to people who have not confirmed their details to do so as soon as possible.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Labour Party Senator Lorraine Higgins said people could miss out on some allowances, such as those for children, if they did not give their details to the utility.
Ms Higgins also said the Government would make a decision this week on how to charge properties that do not pay, and to give power to landlords to deduct unpaid charges from tenants' rent.
Irish Water has said more than one million households, or over 56% of the total customer base, have now registered their details.
The Department of Environment has confirmed that a separate deadline will be put in place for households to register to avail of the €100 grant.
A spokesperson for the Department could not say when this deadline was likely to be.
The grant will be administered by the Department of Social Protection.
According to the Department it is currently putting systems in place to administer this scheme and full details will be announced when they are finalised.
The Department has said it will be communicating with people in mid-2015 inviting them to apply for the grant.
The first payment is due to be made in September.
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