IRISH WATER HAS said that 150 of its customers received bills of more than €1,000 for the first three months of the year because of leaks.

The utility said that the properties used over €1,000-worth of water between January and April, the first billing period.

However, the householders will not pay that amount because of capped charges. Their bills will actually be between €39 and €65 for the quarter.

According to a statement today, Irish Water says it has started its first fix scheme. It has detected more than 30,000 leaks and contacted 2,500 customers to offer them a free leak investigation.

Today, a spokesperson said that by the end of eight weeks of billing, thousands of customers will have received bills with meter readings as high as €1,000 worth of wasted water.

Crew members began work at a property on St Lawrence Road in Clontarf this morning but have been stopped by a small group of protesters.

A source said gardaí had been called to site but the crew would have difficulties making it to their next appointment – which is for a household especially reliant on water and where special arrangements had been made.

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