Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has said that he is determined to deal "head on" with the issue of lead contamination in the drinking water supply.
Up to 200,000 home owners are estimated to be at risk from lead contamination as a result of lead water pipes in their homes.
Lauching a new national strategy to address the issue which was agreed by the Cabinet this morning, Minister Kelly promised grants of up to €4,000 for low income households to replace the lead water pipes in their homes.
Irish Water has begun the process of writing to up to 28,000 households who they already know are affected.
Lead contamination in drinking water poses a serious risk for brain development and kidney function, and is particularly hazardous for young children and pregnant women.
It arises when lead slowly seeps and dissolves into fresh water passing through lead pipes which were commonly installed in houses in Ireland before the 1970s.
Irish Water, the HSE, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commission for Energy Regulation and the Department of the Environment will all be involved.
However, it is home owners who will be responsible for the vast majority of the repairs and expenses incurred.
Irish Water says there will be a national campaign to get all households to check for lead pipes in their homes.
The Head of Asset Management at Irish Water has said properties built right up to the 1970s are likely to have lead in their pipes.
Jerry Grant said although there is a possibility many of these houses may have been refurbished and a lot of the lead removed, it does not necessarily mean that all has been removed.
He said this is because it involves a lead pipe from the road under the garden into the house.
Mr Grant said this problem has been around for a long time, and encouraged people who are concerned about the presence of lead in their pipes and the possible health impact for small children to take precautions and find out for certain.
He said there is some lead on the surface pipes on roads, which is the responsibility of Irish Water and the company will be addressing that as soon as possible.
He said there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the effects of lead in the pipes and Irish Water will be publishing details on this over the week or so.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said this morning that the metering programme carried out by Irish Water had identified that this was a serious problem.
Speaking as he arrived for this morning's Cabinet meeting, he said he would await the report on the issue, to be presented by Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly, before commenting further.
Fianna Fáil Health spokesperson Billy Kelleher said the Government should introduce a grant scheme for all households affected by lead contamination.
Mr Kelleher called for a replacement programme to be put in place to ensure that every home owner with lead pipes had the means to deal with the problem.
He said local authorities would also need Government support to carry out a proper audit and to ensure that resources were put in place to replace pipes.
Analysis: Environment Correspondent George Lee
We have known for a long time that lead is a big issue. Up until the 1970s much of the pipework used was made of lead, or the pieces used to join the pipes together were lead.
There are many factors that influence if lead is seeping into the water, including how long the water is standing in the pipes, or if the water is hard or soft. However, when lead gets into your system it stays there for a very long time.
There is no safe level of lead in water, but there is a legal limit. That is why there is now an approach to do something about the issue.
But the main issue will be who is to pay for all this? Irish Water says there is no lead in the water it supplies. It says everything inside the boundary and the first 25cm outside the boundary is your problem.
