Fianna Fáil has hit out at the Government for "confusing" people over the Irish Water deadline registration.

Irish Water was forced to issue a clarification after Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins claimed that people would be penalised for not registering before the midnight deadline.

Spokesperson for the Environment, Deputy Barry Cowen, said Senator Higgins' ill-informed commentary on the registration deadline has only served to further confuse the situation.

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He said: "This is just the latest blunder in what has been a series of errors in the setting up and management of the bloated utility company. The public's confidence in this quango has now been further undermined as a result of a Government representative's inability to clearly understand or explain the registration process.

"Senator Higgins' claims that people who don’t register will face a penalty prompted Irish Water to issue a clarification to assure people that that isn't the case. However, there is still a large degree of uncertainty about the workings of Irish Water, and how the water conservation grant will be allocated."

(CD/JP)