The number of personal public service numbers (PPSNs) allocated to foreign nationals fell for the first time in three years in 2007, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The latest data show that just under half of foreign nationals assigned PPSNs in 2004 were in employment three years later.
According to the figures,which has been compiled from records of the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the CSO, 117,966 foreign nationals were given PPSNs in 2004, of which just 45 per cent were working in 2007.
A PPSN is the State identification number for dealings with a number of public sector bodies, including the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the Revenue Commissioners and the Health Services Executive (HSE).
A total of 423,200 foreign nationals who were given PPSNs during the period 2002-2007 had some employment in Ireland during 2007. Of these, 256,200 were male and 167,000 female.
The vast majority of these were employed across five broad economic activities: real estate; renting and business activities; hotels and restaurants; wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing and construction.
There was a sharp rise in the number of PPSNs allocated to foreign nationals from 2002 to 2006, the figures show. In 2002, just over 83,000 PPSNs were given out.
In 2004, when the European Union expanded from 15 to 25 Member States, almost 118,000 numbers were allocated to foreign nationals. By 2006, a record 203,894 numbers had had been assigned. However in 2007, there was a slight fall in the number of numbers issued with 188,755 PPSNs given to non nationals.
The level of employment for those that arrived in Ireland during 2004 was significantly higher than for individuals who entered the country in 2002. Only 35 per cent of the non nationals arriving in 2002 recorded employment three years after their arrival, compared to 45 per cent for those entering the country two years later.
The percentages of arrivals in each of the years 2002 to 2006 who recorded no employment up to the end of 2007 varies from 20 per cent to 29 per cent. While this includes some of those individuals who left the country without having taken up employment, it also features those not in the labour force, such as students.
The analysis also shows that 43 per cent of arrivals in 2007 had no employment up to the end of that year. Though this figure is high it may be because some of those who who entered the country towards the end of 2007 may not have got jobs until January 2008 or later.
Of the 215,300 PPSNs allocated to foreign nationals in 2007, 52.7 per cent were to non nationals from the ten accession states: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.
The number of arrivals from Poland exceeded that from any other country, with 79,700 PPSN allocations in 2007; this was followed by the UK with 22,100 numbers assigned, Romania with 14,500 and Lithuania with 10,700.
