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17th April 2024 Issue no. 701

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Licensing of CCTV and access control contractors by Ireland's PSA commences

by Paul Cunneen, President of the Associated Locksmiths of Ireland (ALOI).

This is a new law that forbids any contractors in from operating within the Republic Of Ireland, in the Access control or CCTV sectors without a PSA (Government) licence. This will also affect UK companies from operating in the Rep. Of Ireland, and would be extremely difficult for these companies to obtain the licence. Part of the licence requirements are a valid Irish C2 (Tax clearance certificate) for each and every director in the company, Irish Gardai vetting certificate (Police vetting and certificate). UK CRB check is not acceptable (as any offence in Ireland must be checked as part thereof).

Business premises inspection, compliance with Irish standards for Alarm and monitoring on your premises (Certification can ONLY be carried out by one of ONLY 5 companies, allocated by the Irish Government) and on-the-job physical Inspections of at least 2 customer jobs. Full (Min-10-year) employment history for each and every employee in the business with a separate folder for each From school-leaving to present, including 2 character references which must be verifiable. And most importantly, up to date revenue account. This is now set-out in LAW. Other than that, it's a piece of cake!

From the 1st October 2012, contractors installing or maintaining CCTV systems and Access Control systems will require a licence from the Private Security Authority (PSA).

The extension of licensing to CCTV and Access Control is a major milestone for the PSA and marks the completion of licensing for contractors in the electronic security sector. The licensing of these new sectors has been in development for several years and has involved consultation with all the industry stakeholders.

In order to obtain a licence from the PSA, a contractor must prove compliance with national and European standards, be tax compliant and undergo criminal record checking. A licence granted by the PSA is valid for two years and a register of licence holders is available on the PSA website - www.psa.gov.ie

It will now be an offence under the Private Security Services Acts to install, maintain, service or repair a CCTV system or Access Control system without a licence. Penalties range from fines of up to €3,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 12 months.

Similarly, any person employing an unlicensed CCTV or Access Control contractor will also be breaking the law and subject to prosecution. A person includes householders and businesses.

The PSA is the statutory body responsible for the licensing and regulation of the private security industry in Ireland. The PSA already licences contractors who provide the following services:

Intruder Alarm Installation and Maintenance Security Guarding
Door Supervision
Cash In Transit
Intruder Alarm Monitoring

Employees providing Security Guarding and Door Supervision services are also required to be licensed. There are currently in the region of 750 contractors and 27,000 individuals licensed by the PSA. The next sectors for licensing are CCTV Monitoring contractors, Event Security contractors and Cash In Transit employees. These are scheduled to take place during 2013.

Issued by the Private Security Authority. For further information contact the Authority's Communications Unit at [email protected].

19th December 2012