P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 150: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will restore the registration process for PPS numbers in the local social welfare office in Castletownbere in view of the concerns of local employers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19625/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The majority of Irish citizens now have a PPS number and since the modernisation of civil registration in 2003, all children born in the Republic of Ireland are automatically issued with a PPS number following the registration of the birth.

Foreign nationals coming to live and work in Ireland are allocated PPS numbers on application to the Department through the network of Local and Branch Offices. When applying for a PPS number, customers are asked to complete an application form and to provide documentation to establish their identity and address. They are usually informed of their PPS number by post within ten days.

The PPS number is a main personal identifier and the key to access a broad range of government services. My Department has, for some time, encountered attempted abuses of PPS registration process. Forged or altered documentation has been presented in support of PPS number applications and, where these are detected, they are referred to the Gardaí for action. In addition, the investigative staff of my Department are engaged in a range of control activities to combat identity fraud.

In order to combat fraudulent activity of this nature, the number of outlets for the allocation of PPS numbers is being reduced to one centralised location per County. The only exceptions are Tipperary and Cork, which will have two locations. As a result of this, customers in the Castletownbere area will be required to travel to Bantry and not to Cork city which would otherwise have been the case.