Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Register of Users)

Updated October 2019

Does your Office use the PPS Number at present?

Yes

For what purpose(s)?

Statistical Purposes

The purpose of processing the information is the collection, compilation, extraction and dissemination for official statistics in line with the Statistics Act 1993 and Council Regulation 223/2009 on European Statistics (as amended).

The CSO may obtain administrative records from public bodies, for statistical use, under Section 30 of the Statistics Act, 1993. Administrative records obtained by the CSO for statistical purposes which contain the PPS number include the following:

The PPS number is a field on the records obtained from the General Register Office as part of the Deaths Notification, Births Notification and Marriages Notification forms
the PPS number is a field record obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine for the purpose of agricultural surveys
the PPS number is a field on records obtained from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners for business register purposes and for property register purposes
The PPS number is collected directly from the public in certain CSO statistical surveys (such as Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), Quarterly National; Household Survey (QNHS), the Household Finance and consumption survey (HFCS) and the Household Budget Survey (HBS)
for the purpose of compiling quarterly earnings statistics and annual statistics on the structure of earnings, the CSO periodically collects employee data, which includes PPS number, from employers
Several other administrative data sources obtained by the CSO for statistical use generally include the PPS number. These sources stem from the following providers:

o Department of Education and Skills;

o Higher Education Authority;

o Quality and Qualifications Ireland;

o Primary Care Reimbursement Service;

o Health Service Executive;

o Residential Tenancies Board;

o Department of Social Protection;

o State Examination Commission;

o Pensions Authority;

o SOLAS;

o Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport;

o Student Universal Support Ireland;

o Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

Data are transmitted to the CSO via a secure channel.

On receipt in the CSO’s Administrative Data Centre the PPS number and other identity information such as name, address and date of birth are replaced by a Protected Identifier Key (PIK) before making the data available for statistical analysis. The PIK preserves linking capabilities while at the same time protecting identification details. Staff using the resultant dataset for statistical analysis purposes do not have access to the PPS number or other identifying particulars.

Where the processing involves linkage between datasets, the linkage is carried out in accordance with the CSO’s Protocol for linking and integrating data holding for [external-linkm http://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/csodataprotocol/ | statistical purposes. ] New statistical projects involving the use of administrative data sources or linkage between data sources containing the PPS number are subject to a Private Impact Assessment. Each individual data matching project is performed only if it complies in full with the terms of the CSO Data Protocol. This Protocol, which covers data linkage policy and procedures, was formally agreed with the Data Protection Commissioner and is available at here. A register of statistical data linkage projects is also made available on the CSO website.

PPS numbers are used by the CSO for statistical purposes only, in accordance with the terms of the Statistics Act. By matching datasets from different sources, using the PPS number as the common identifier, the CSO is able to conduct broader statistical analysis of cross-cutting topics, while aiming to minimize the response burden on survey participants.

Administrative purposes

The Office uses the PPS number for employee record purposes within HR and Finance Division and areas of the office with responsibility for field staff. This includes (but not limited to) employment record, pensions, transactions with shared services and communications with Chief Medical Officers Office

Does your Office exchange the PPS Number with any external body? If so please name the relevant bodies and state the purpose(s) of the exchange

Statistical Purposes

The CSO does not provide the PPS number, or any other identifiable personal data, to any external body as this would be a breach of statistical legislation and would amount to a serious offence. All data collected or obtained under the Statistics Act 1993 is strictly confidential, is accessible only to Officers of Statistics, and may be used only for exclusively statistical purposes. All Officers of Statistics must sign a Declaration of Secrecy, as specified in the Act.

Administrative purposes

The Office exchanges the PPS number in employee related dealings with Chief Medical Officer's Office, Shared Services and other Departments/Offices.

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

Yes

Statistical purposes

It is planned to continue to hold and use the PPS Number in accordance with statistical purposes.

Administrative purposes

There are no plans to change the current use of PPS Numbers.

There is a duty to ensure compliance with the principles of processing personal data which are set out in Article 5(1) and 5(2) of the GDPR. These principles are summarised as follows:-

Process it lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner;
Collect it only for one or more speciﬁed, explicit and legitimate purposes, and do not otherwise use it in a way that is incompatible with those purposes;
Ensure it is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purpose it is processed;
Keep it accurate and up-to-date and erase or rectify any inaccurate data without delay;
Where it is kept in a way that allows you to identify who the data is about, retain it for no longer than is necessary;
Keep it secure by using appropriate technical and/or organisational security measures;
Be able to demonstrate your compliance with the above principles; and Respond to requests by individuals seeking to exercise their data protection rights (for example the right of access

Have you measures in place to ensure that the Public Service Identity data you hold/collect whether in electronic or written format is in line with the GDPR Principles described above?

Statistical purposes*

The CSO is committed to complying with the Statistics Act 1993, GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. In particular, in recent years, the CSO has updated and completed its data protection and processing policies to ensure that the data containing PPSN are dealt with in compliance to the GDPR principles above.

Administrative purposes*

Within the Office, the PPS numbers are held and used by staff assigned to HR and Finance Division (and other areas of the Office with responsibility for field staff) in accordance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018 and the GDPR.