5. (1) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Social Protection and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister under subsection (5), pay, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, an annual grant to a person in respect of a dwelling for the purposes of water conservation.

(2) A grant under this section payable in respect of the year 2015 shall only be paid where the occupier of a dwelling—

(a) has, not later than such date as the Minister specifies by order, registered with Irish Water details of the water supply to the dwelling and the treatment of waste water discharged from the dwelling, and

(b) has provided to the Minister for Social Protection information specified under regulations made under subsection (5).

(3) For the purposes of this section F10[and section 5A (inserted by section 50 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015)], a person shall be regarded as the occupier of a dwelling if for reasons of physical or intellectual disability he or she is not resident in that dwelling, other than where the dwelling is rented to another person.

F10[(3A) For the purposes of this section and section 5A, an approved housing body (being a body standing approved of for the purposes of section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992) that—

(a) is in receipt of funding from the Health Service Executive under—

(i) an arrangement under section 38 of the Health Act 2004, or

(ii) section 39 of the Health Act 2004,

and

(b) is liable for the payment of any charge for the provision of water services to a dwelling,

shall be regarded as the occupier of the dwelling.]

(4) Irish Water shall send to the Minister for Social Protection particulars in relation to persons (whether or not they are customers of Irish Water) drawn from the particulars of registration received by it in respect of the registration process referred to in subsection (2)(a), which particulars shall be sent at the time and in the form and manner agreed between Irish Water and the Minister for Social Protection.

(5) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this section to provide for the following:

(a) the amount of the grant;

(b) eligibility criteria;

(c) application procedures;

(d) information to be provided by persons making an application under this section;

(e) general administration procedures;

(f) any consequential or ancillary matters that the Minister considers necessary for the proper functioning of the scheme.