Irish Water is reportedly being ordered to slash costs and reduce staff numbers.
According to the Irish Independent, the new board of Irish Water's parent company Ervia will be told to come up with a plan to reduce costs by €85m by 2020.
The Government has given the green light for the company to bring in a voluntary redundancy scheme shed some of its 4,500-strong workforce.
The cost of running existing water services is expected to drop 13% by 2020 - to €560m.
It has also been reported that the Department of Social Protection is considering hiring more staff to administer the €100 grant for water charges.