The suspension of Water Charges was announced by the government back in May – and it finally became official when the Water Services Amendment Act 2016 was enacted on July 26th this year .
Domestic Water Charges were suspended from April 1st 2016 until 31st March 2017 while an expert group look into the options available for Irish Water and water charges. In March – the suspension of water charges wa sfurther extended until the end of July 2017 .
The suspension is now extended again until the end of December 2017.
The Water Services Act 2014 (Extension of Suspension of Domestic Water Charges) (Amendment) Order 2017)
The last water bills sent out in 2016 were to cover Jan/Feb/March 2016 – and the last of those should have been sent by July 2016.
Irish Water is still operating and will still need money to keep the water supply flowing. That money will now have to come from government funds .
Update – Sept 2017 : It was recently announced that all domestic customers will get a ful Refund of al water charges they have paid. This refund should be paid before the end of2017. More details on Water Charge Refunds here.
More here about what is happening to Water Charges in 2018