Posts tagged public service numbers

THE number of foreign nationals working and getting personal public service numbers (PPSNs) plunged last year as thousands of people left the country in the economic downturn.

Despite the huge exodus, social welfare “activity” among those who have stayed has gone up — driven largely by sharp unemployment.

New figures show that more than 154,000 foreign nationals were given PPS numbers last year to help them gain access to social welfare benefits, public services and information inIreland.

This was a drop of more than 60,000 (28pc) on the 2007 figure and almost 72,000 fewer than the peak allocation in 2006.

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