Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I accept the difficulties that have been experienced by the Department over the past six or seven months, in particular in respect of the crisis in Ukraine. I commend the workers in the Department who have been operating in very difficult circumstances.

An Irish citizen who worked in the UAE came home to get a job. We are asking people to come back and contribute to our society. He is from the North and sought a PPS number on his return to Ireland. He had to wait three months, even though he was told there was a six-week delay. He was out of work for those three months as a result. I appreciate that there are extreme difficulties in the Department and acknowledge that there has been extra overtime and that people are being trained. I hope the delay will be resolved very soon.

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