Published on 

Minister McEntee welcomes the Private Security Authority Annual Report 2019

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, has today welcomed the Annual Report of the Private Security Authority (PSA) for 2019. The report was submitted to the Minister by the PSA and was brought to the Government on 2 November prior to it being laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Welcoming the annual report, Minister McEntee said,

The Private Security Authority is an important independent agency under the aegis of my Department, which is responsible for the licensing and regulation of the private security industry. The Authority is responsible for a broad remit ranging from cash in transit, to the security personnel you see in many businesses, to locksmiths, alarm installation and monitoring companies.

The Minister also noted that,

The Private Security Services (Amendment) Bill 2020 was approved by Government in November 2019 for drafting and is a priority for me, and for the Government. The Bill will bring the regulation and licensing of security personnel enforcing court orders within the remit of the Private Security Authority.

My officials have been working intensively on this Bill, together with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, and the drafting is now well advanced.

The PSA Annual Report for 2019 acknowledges the security industry’s continued growth in line with overall economic growth. The industry’s turnover in 2019 is estimated to be in the region of €782,032,000. The PSA provide licenses for both contractors and for individuals, processing almost 15,000 applications in 2019.

The Minister also welcomed the publication of two surveys undertaken on behalf of the PSA by Amarach Research. The first is into the views of contractor licence holders on regulations and the private security industry. The second survey focussed on public awareness of regulation in the private security industry and recognition of the PSA as the industry regulator. The Minister said,

This is the first time the PSA has conducted research of this nature. It will assist the PSA in developing future strategies for the benefit of the public and security industry.

Minister McEntee also noted the considerable impact which Covid-19 has had on the security services industry.

As a result of the pandemic, large sections of the industry such as event security are suspended and many small contractors are under strain. I am pleased with the actions that the PSA has taken to date to help contractors and I know that they will continue to look at ways to assist licence holders during these difficult times.

Note for Editors

The Annual Report can be found on the Department of Justice website at: Private Security Authority Annual Report 2019

The Annual Report also contains details of further significant progress on matters made by the PSA in 2019, including:

• Publishing two new standards:
- Phase 1 Requirements Document for the licensing of Contractors in the Door Supervisor (Event Security), Door Supervisor (Licensed Premises), Security Guard (Event Security) and Security Guard (Static) sectors, and,
- Quality control standard for the electronic security sectors
• Setting a critical date for the licensing of employees in the Event Security sector
• A public consultation on the requirements for licensing contractors in the Powered Gates sector
• The development of new training programmes in the Door Supervisor and Security Guarding sectors
• The completion of 150 contractor inspections in 2019 which is an important element to ensure compliance.

The Private Security Authority (PSA) is a statutory body established under the Private Security Services Act 2004 and 2011. The Authority is an independent body under the aegis of the Department of Justice and is administered by a Board with day-to-day management carried out by the Chief Executive and staff of the body. The PSA is charged with introducing, controlling and managing a comprehensive standards based licensing system for the private security industry.

Information on the PSA and regulation can be found on www.psa.gov.ie. The PSA can be contacted at info@psa.gov.ie.