Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 294: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of PPS numbers issued to persons not holding Irish citizenship during each year from 2002 to date in 2006; the number of PPS numbers issued to persons not holding Irish citizenship that are currently idle, such that no activity in relation to tax or social welfare is associated with them for a period of time possibly indicating that the person has left the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18186/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The Personal Public Service Number (PPS No.) is an individual's unique reference number for dealings with Government Departments and public bodies. My Department is responsible for allocating PPS Numbers for use by people, of any nationality, to access certain public services.

A PPS Number does not issue automatically except in the case of children born in Ireland. In all other cases, application must be made at one of my Department's local offices. When applying for a PPS Number, applicants are asked to prove their identity. This is usually done by presenting a passport or National Identity Card.

Documents presented by an applicant are then examined and authenticated by Local Office staff. The nationality of the applicant is recorded based on the documentation provided. Citizenship, which may be different, is not recorded. The number of PPS Numbers allocated to people whose nationality was not recorded as Irish, since 2002, is as follows: 2002, 165,628; 2003, 104,620; 2004, 133,127; 2005, 190,884; 2006 (to 30/4/06), 68,275.

The number is used as an identifier when accessing services offered by multiple agencies. Each agency would associate further data related to its specific services with this identifier and it is not possible, or desirable from a privacy perspective, for my Department to have sight of activity across agencies. There are many reasons why a person would need a PPS Number but would not be economically active, for example, to avail of the Drugs Refund Scheme or to apply for a Driving License.

The figures quoted above refer to those people who successfully applied for, and were allocated, a PPS Number. The number of people who applied for a PPS Number and subsequently left this country is included in the total of allocations made. There is no formal mechanism for notifying my Department of individuals leaving the country.