Today my weekly SuperValu delivery comes early, just after 10am. Ciarán, the familiar deliveryman, calls ahead to give me a heads up and make sure I’ll be home. Fine by me! It’s a large order so I take two trips to haul all the bags upstairs.
After putting everything away and finishing up breakfast, I finally hear back about my Personal Public Service (PPS) number application. I receive an email saying there’s a notification on the MyGov.ie website. The message only says: “Please upload documentary evidence as to why you need a pps number.” I respond explaining again that I need a PPS number for my European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) application, which I re-upload. A little later on, around midday, I receive another notification repeating the request for documentation, without any acknowledgment of my explanation about the EHIC application. I respond again, re-sending the EHIC application, and in addition state that another reason I need a PPS number is to apply for an Irish driver’s license number. Ireland’s National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) has an online application, but it requires that my MyGov.ie account be verified, which in turn requires me having a PPS number. As part of my second response, I upload a PDF of the message I received on the NDLS website to this effect. So far, I haven’t received any further notifications, so perhaps that did the trick? In anticipation of another stonewalling request for further documentation, I place a call into the Citizens Information line. Surprisingly, I’m connected after a short wait to a friendly sounding woman. I explain the back-and-forth with my PPSN application, and she affirms that the reasons I’ve provided should be sufficient. She also suggests that another reason I could provide for needing a PPSN is that my landlord needs it in order to register my tenancy at the apartment. Back in August when I was securing the apartment, the leasing (or “letting”) agreement actually asked for my PPSN, and that’s when I had submitted my original PPSN application via email (which was the temporary process at the time due to COVID-19). Thankfully, not having a PPSN wasn’t a show-stopper for moving ahead with the lease. Apparently, by law landlords have one calendar month to register a new tenancy which includes the tenant’s PPSN. My hands-off landlord hasn’t asked me about it, so I’m not sure if he ever did this or was able to register the tenancy without having my PPSN. At any rate, stay tuned!
The weather today is warmer with highs in the mid 50s F / 11-14 C, and no rain in the afternoon. A couple of packages have been delivered to Mail Boxes Etc for me, so that’s a good excuse to get out of the apartment. On the way back, I decide to stop by a couple of stores around Grafton Street, which is packed with shoppers. I’m delighted to see that Bewley’s Oriental Cafe has re-opened! I thought it had closed permanently. I’ll have to stop in another day soon.
