Irish Water has changed its rules to allow people to register with them until the end of 2015 without penalty.

Under new rules, customers who register any time this year will have their bills adjusted to take into account their level of use and allowances, even for those bills already issued.

Yesterday, the Commission for Energy regulation - which also covers Irish Water - published a revised Water Charges Plan, following its public consultation phase.

The new Water Charges Plan covers the period up until the end of 2016, and reflects changes made late last year by the Government to Irish Water rules.

Among the details in the document is that anyone who registers in 2015 will have their bills for the entire year adjusted to reflect their details.

That means those who register up until the end of 2015 will have all their bills to date adjusted to take into account children's' allowances and the number of occupants, as well as their metered rate – and can avoid paying the maximum capped charge.

Although the free allowance of 30,000 litres has been scrapped, registering with Irish Water, will allow consumers to claim a grant and receive allowances for children.

Those who wait until 2016 to register, however, will only have their bills adjusted for the billing period in which they register.

The proposal was put forward by Irish Water to simplify a previous 60-day "look-back period", and approved by the CER.

The minimum payment for bills has also been decreased from €10 to €5.

— Dave Molloy