Tonight's 'deadline' to register with Irish Water appears to be rather softer than first thought, with spokesperson for the utility confirming that there is no penalty.

Elizabeth Arnett says it's not a hard deadline;

Households who have not yet registered with Irish Water have until midnight tonight to submit their details, but will still be able to avail of the 100 euro water conservation grant if they miss the deadline.

Irish Water says 1.1 million households have registered with them so far, but they confirmed that 42 percent of households have yet to register.

Juliette Gash reports;