IRISH WATER HAS said that it has received fewer than 10 reports of water misuse.

Yesterday, a hosepipe ban came into effect which prohibited the use of water for things like watering your garden, washing your car or filling paddling pools.

The ban is in place until the 31 July; anyone found in breach of it could face a fine of €125.

Today Irish Water said that it had received fewer than 10 reports of the misuse of water through its contact centre.

“We are now in the process of calling those households where hosepipe usage has been reported to educate customers on the importance of water conservation at this important time,” it said.

There have been some accusations of water wastage by officials. Today, the Office of Public Works said that a minimum amount of water was used by a contractor cleaning the Pope’s Cross in Dublin yesterday.

It said that cleaning the 35-metre cross was “essential” ahead of the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland next month.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the best approach to conserve water is by asking people to “do the right thing and be good citizens”.

Irish Water also reminded the public to conserve water where they can.

“Water levels in rivers, lakes and wells across the country are at a level that we would usually experience coming into the autumn,” it said.

Given that we are in early July, unless we continue to conserve water, we will be facing into ongoing restrictions over the coming months.