The Environment Minister says tonight's deadline to register with Irish Water is not a 'drop-dead' date.

Alan Kelly told Lunchtime with Jonathan Healy today that people who don't register by midnight can still do so at a later stage.

Householders who don't register their details by tonight may face a default charge of €260.

So far, over one million people have returned forms and will be eligible to apply for the €100 Water Conservation Grant.

However, more than 835,000 homes are yet to do so with the first quarterly bills to be sent out in April.

Another wave of national protests against the water charges took place this weekend to coincide with the registration deadline at midnight tonight.

The utility is urging those who are yet to submit their details to do so so they not only receive the correct bill - but are also eligible to apply for the €100 Water Conservation Grant - introduced by the Government in November in light of rising public backlash against the charge.

Any unregistered customers are being warned that they will receive a default bill at the capped charge of €65 per quarter or 260 per year with the first bills being sent out from April.

John Tierney, managing director of Irish Water said: “Creating a national database of customers on the public water network for the first time is significant and we would like to thank people for confirming their details.  We are now in the final stages of preparation for billing to the 1.5 million households on the public water network. This is an enormous challenge and nothing of this scale has previously been undertaken.''          
         
People can confirm their details simply by logging onto water.ie or by calling the LoCall number 1890 448 448 and using the application number and pin on the pack sent to them.  The first quarterly bills will be posted to homes from April 2015.

Deputy leader of Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald and TD for Dublin Central, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning and again stated her belief that the Government should abolish water charges.

She also condemned the abusive language and threats from some protesters over the last few weeks, particularly those aimed at the President.

The Deputy Leader also spoke about a possible motion of no confidence in the Ceann Comhairle and said that the party have no plans to table the motion.

You can listen to the full interview here: