Households have until midnight tonight to register their details with Irish Water or they may face a default charge of 260 euro.

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

Irish Water says over 1 million people have returned their application packs - leaving over 835-thousand yet to register.

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 euro 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 euro per quarter - or 260 per year - with the first bills being sent out from April.