Irish Water has announced it has completed over 25,800 free leak investigations.

The firm has also repaired 4,219 leaks as part of its First Fix Free scheme.

Over 14,000 householders have benefited from the scheme and Irish Water is urging more householders to make use of the free service.

Irish Water's First Fix Free scheme launched in early 2015 across all metering regions throughout the country. To the end of March, 75,866 properties were identified with customer side leaks.

In 2014 it was estimated that water leakage levels could be as high as 49%. The figure was based on limited data, estimated customer use and varying methods of calculating leakage around the country. As a single utility, Irish Water is able to standardise methods of calculation of leaks and properly understand how much water households use through our domestic meter data set of approximately 850,000 connections.

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To avail of the scheme, customers must have a confirmed leak on their external supply pipe; have a water meter installed on their property and have a working and accessible inside stop valve.

The firm's Water Conservation Strategy Specialist Kate Gannon, said: "Leakage of water from the network is a serious problem on a national scale. Lost water is estimated at 47% nationally. A total of 75,866 households across the country will have already received a letter indicating a potential leak on their property and these householders should contact Irish Water, if they haven't done so. This really is a great opportunity to potentially avail of a free leak investigation and potentially a free fix and I am urging any customers who have received a letter, or who may be aware of a leak within their property boundary outside of their home, to get in touch with Irish Water."

(CD/LM)