Internal investigations at the Department of Social and Family Affairs have uncovered a significant level of fraud in the use of bogus Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers to claim welfare benefits or bypass the work permit system.
A report into identity fraud, obtained by The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act, found there was an organised network which involved "huge trade" in genuine documents, such as P45s, tax credit certs and social services cards, in order to obtain PPS numbers.
It warned that growing evidence of identity fraud could lead to a "lack of confidence" in the PPS system, which is used to help open bank accounts and obtain credit cards.
The Southern Region ID Project report, completed at the end of 2004, warns: "Many other cases of ID fraud have been encountered and will continue. The influx of new immigrants from the new EU members states has brought new problems and there is a need for constant updates . . . As a department our first line of defence in this area is at the PPS No. issue stage."
The report called for a multi-agency taskforce to deal with ID fraud and warned that many cases of fraud reached no conclusion as individuals involved "simply disappeared".
The number of PPS numbers allocated to foreign nationals has been increasing dramatically, especially since the accession of eastern European countries in May 2004.
Latest estimates show around 166,000 PPS numbers were allocated to migrant workers from accession countries since accession.
In 2000 a report suggested the State was losing between €25 million and €50 million as a result of such identity fraud. In a statement to this newspaper, the department said the estimate was "highly speculative and based on the possibility of fraudulent claiming rather than actual experience".
Also, figures supplied to The Irish Times shows there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of suspected fraud being investigated by the department.
In 2002, the department's Client Identity Service Control, which monitors identity fraud issues, examined 635 cases of suspected fraud, 204 of which were found fraudulent.
These fraud cases resulted in 12 arrests.
Last year the same section investigated 1,393 cases of suspected fraud, 377 of which were found to be fraudulent. This resulted in 94 arrests.
A more detailed analysis of fraudulent cases for 2004 shows that 303 of the applications were from non-nationals who presented false/forged documents purporting to be from EU states, 20 were other non-national documents and one was Irish documentation.
Much of the kind of fraud identified in the 2004 report documented the use of false passports to obtain PPS numbers, other false ID cards, and the use of bogus UK and French ID cards.
The report involved the investigation of eight companies in the south of the country, where it was known there were high proportions of non-nationals.
In one company survey, six of the seven employees were found to be using false IDs.
"The common factor . . . was that employers demanded very little by way of verification of identity.
"As long as the employee was able to provide a P45, PPS (number) or tax certificate, the employer presumed their identity was okay and that they were allowed to work."
Employers who require just P45s or PPS numbers have more false ID workers than those who have more stringent controls.