Mr. Niall Cody:

We spoke to Deputy Burke about the amount of PPS numbers. We are worried about people – it is probably the case that they are mostly non-Irish – who have gone home but whose PPS numbers and identities have stayed here and been misused. I have concerns about economies within economies. I hesitate to say this, as it is not primarily our area of responsibility, but there is probably exploitation of some workers as well as identity theft, which can sometimes lead to concerns for us around extraction fraud. The problem is that organised crime gangs are involved in some of this activity, and they have a focus on extraction fraud whereas we make a presumption of honesty in dealing with all repayments and must ensure that legitimate businesses get their repayments as quickly as they can.