The processing of PPS numbers - Personal Public Service numbers - is "under pressure" as applications have soared by approximately 70,000 over the past year, the top civil servant in the Department of Social Protection has said.

Secretary general John McKeon told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee yesterday that waiting times to get a PPS number were now approximately four weeks, whereas applicants previously faced a 10-day wait.

Mr McKeon said that staff in his department had been put under increased pressure due to the large number of applications submitted this year.

He added that the increase was largely due to the thousands of Ukrainians who have come to Ireland since February to flee the Russian invasion. Mr McKeon also said the number of refugees from other countries seeking PPS numbers had increased five-fold in the past year.

"Our PPSN processing has been under pressure," he admitted. "We have deployed extra staff and extra resources to it, including overtime."

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