Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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313. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current waiting time for parents seeking PPS numbers for newly registered births; her plans to address any delays; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49106/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I have asked the General Register Office to enquire with the HSE the current national average time to register a birth. The HSE has indicated that it currently taking on average of 7 weeks in the Eastern Region to complete the registration process. Other registration areas do not have a backlog of registrations to process. The Deputy should note that this seven week period includes the time taken by the parents to submit the relevant paperwork and to attend to register the birth at a local civil registration office.

The Personal Public Service Number, or PPSN, is automatically allocated by the Department of Social Protection no earlier that the day after the birth registration. There are no delays in allocating a PPSN where the birth has been registered. A Child Benefit claim is automatically activated in respect of that child and any arrears due are included in the first payment. Where a parent is in receipt of a qualify child payment in respect of other children in the family, the relevant payment is adjusted to take account of the newly registered child.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.