Donegal County Council (Register of Users)

Does your organisation use the PPSN at present?

Yes.

If so, for what purpose?

The various departments of the Council use PPS numbers as outlined below:

Human Resources

• when requesting information from other Local Authorities/public bodies in relation to new employees’ previous employment in terms of incremental credit and reckonable service
• to ensure new and existing employees are set up on the payroll system
• used for training delivered through the Regional Training Centre
• used when contact has to be made with Dept. of Social Protection in relation to Sick *pay/illness Benefit
• when employees are retiring

Housing

• identification of applicants for Social Housing Support/loans & Grant Applications
• assessment of rents
• claiming tax relief at source on mortgages
• identification of landlords in the case of the Rental Accommodation and Long Term Leasing Schemes and Payments
• setting up Housing budget payments with An Post for Rents /Loans
• payments to Vendors for the acquisition of properties for social housing

Water Services

• processing and payment of water grants

Finance

• payroll – All payroll related transactions and reporting
• Accounts Payable – Where not Vat registered, PPSN number is used for all Accounts Payable transactions and reporting
• loans – Used in return to Revenue Commissioners in respect of Tax Relief at Source (TRS)

The PPS number is requested when housing loan borrowers are completing the Standard Financial Statement to correlate with the documentary evidence submitted by the borrower.

Corporate Services

• Higher Education Grant applications
• NPPR – received on all application forms, which were forwarded to NPPR & Household Charge bureau. PPS numbers not retained by Donegal County Council but can be accessed on the databases
• Motor Tax – driving licence applications containing PPS numbers received prior to October 2013 are still retained by the Council; PPS numbers from current applications can be accessed on the NVDF database

Environment

Investigation of cases under the Litter Pollution Acts.

Fire Service

Abatement, partial abatement of Fire Service Charge.

Local Enterprise Office

Employment Grant claims - PPS number received as part of verification process that named employee is not in receipt of Social Welfare payments. This is verified with DSP.

Planning

• built heritage investment scheme applications
• structures at Risk applications
• casual Trading Licences

Community Development

Payment of Sports Bursary Grants.

Payment of Members Development Fund, Development Fund Initiative and Voluntary Contribution Grants (note: Not for Profit Tax Registration Number / Charity Number now being used for vast majority of these payments).

The PPS number of participants of the Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme (SICAP) from January 2018 will be collected by the Programme Implementers (PI’s) who will deliver the scheme on behalf of the Local Authority. The PPS number will be requested for a number of reasons, including to register on the programme, for referrals to the programme from other Bodies and for programme evaluation purposes.

Roads

Public Liability Claim Payments and Land Acquisition Payments

Does your organisation exchange the PPS number with any other body? If so please name the relevant bodies and the purpose(s) of the exchange?

Yes,

• Revenue Commissioners – wages, salaries, statutory returns, landlord details for Rental Accommodation Scheme, housing loans
• Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection – sick pay, various welfare benefits, statutory returns
• Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government – claims for various grants and returns
• Private Residential Tenancies Board – Rental Accommodation Scheme
• Regional Training Centre – staff training purposes
• HSE – assessment of housing adaptation grant applications
• Irish Credit Bureau – assessment of housing loan applications
• Department of Education – Higher Education Grants
• Household Charge Bureau
• NPPR Bureau
• HAP Hub Limerick - HAP Clients & Landlords
• An Post - Household Budget for payment of rents / loans

Does your organisation have any other plans involving the use of the PPS number?

No.

There are Eight Rules of Data Protection which govern the processing of personal data set out as follows:

**btain and process the information fairly

• keep it only for one or more specified, explicit and lawful purposes
• process it only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given to you initially
• keep it safe and secure
• keep it accurate, complete and up-to-date
• ensure that it is adequate, relevant and not excessive
• retain it no longer than is necessary for the specified purpose or purposes
• give a copy of his/her personal data to an individual, on request

Have you measures in place to ensure that the Public Service Identity data you hold /collect, whether held in electronic or written format is secure and that it is accessible and processed, only in connection with the purpose for which it has been provided?

Yes, Donegal County Council has adopted a Data Protection Policy, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of all employees and third parties in relation to Data Protection. The highest standards of security are applied to the PPS Number as to all other personal data held by the local authority.