Information Notes

PSA 31 – Applies if you are a firsttime applicant for any of the following sectors or if you wish to add one or more of the following sectors to an existing licence:

• Security Guard (Static)
• Door Supervisor (Licensed Premises)
• Security Guard (Event Security)
• Door Supervisor (Event Security)
• Enforcement Guard

PSA 93 – From 1st November 2022, all event security personnel must hold a licence issued by the PSA. This Information Note details the mandatory requirements for Event Promoters and Organisers operating in this sector.

PSA 92 – From 1^st November 2022, all event security personnel must hold a licence issued by the PSA. This Information Note details the mandatory requirements for Sporting Organisations operating in this sector.

PSA 53 – From the 1st November 2022, employees of Private Investigators Contractors will also require an Employee Licence from the Private Security Authority (PSA).

PSA 90 – The PSA would like to bring to the attention of licensed locksmiths important information regarding asbestos in safes. If you are involved in the purchase and/or sale of second hand safes this information is relevant to your business.

PSA 89 – The PSA is issuing this information note to inform that from the 1st November 2022, employees in the Event Security Sector who wish to work at events on a temporary basis but are not the holder of either a Door Supervisor or Security Guard (Guarding) licence, will be required to have a Temporary Licence. The Temporary Licence is only available for the event security sector and can only be applied for through a PSA licensed event security contractor.

PSA 88 – The PSA is issuing this information note to inform that from 1st November 2022, employees in the Event Security Sector are required to hold a Private Security Authority Licence.

PSA 87 – The PSA is issuing this information note to inform that from 1st November 2022, employees in the Private Investigator Sector are required to hold a Private Security Authority Licence.

The PSA is issuing this information note to inform contractors and householders who install and maintain CCTV in domestic settings of the Data Protection implications which may arise. Contractors should bring this note to the attention of their domestic clients.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS – Use of PSA Logo by Licensed Private Security Service Contractors

The purpose of this guidance is to assist those who have any responsibility for the specification, design, manufacture, purchase, installation, maintenance, inspection or use of powered gates. Powered gates can injure and kill. In recent years a number of children in the UK have been fatally injured by powered gates, while in Ireland in 2015 a person was trapped and fatally injured by an electrically powered gate.

The Private Security Authority (PSA) is the statutory body responsible for the licensing and regulation of the private security industry in Ireland.

Under the Private Security Services Acts, licences are now compulsory for private security contractors providing CCTV, Access Control and Intruder Alarm installations and maintenance services. Contractors include companies, partnerships and sole traders.

Contractors providing CCTV, Access Control and Intruder Alarm installation and/or maintenance services without a licence are breaking the law.

Information Note on Data Protection and CCTV
Recognisable images captured by CCTV systems are “personal data”. They are therefore subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Acts. Any person who has control over the captured images is a “data controller” and must comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Acts.

The key issues in terms of compliance with the law are transparency (i.e. appropriate notices indicating that CCTV is in operation and its purpose), proportionality (i.e. a security need identified with recording taking place for that purpose) and retention (i.e. recorded footage is kept for no longer than is necessary – usually not more than thirty days).

Definition of Access Control
“installer of security equipment (access control)” means a person who installs, maintains, repairs or services security equipment that consists of electronic or other devices designed, constructed or adapted to control or record access by persons or vehicles to or within premises where such equipment is situated. “access control” means the control or recording or access by persons or vehicles to or within premises by means of:

(a) Personal identity verification, including by means of biometrics,
(b) Vehicle identification,
(c) Numerical codes,
(d) Alphabetical codes,
(e) Access or other card management,
(f) Electronic key management, or

any combination of such means.

The definition of CCTV as defined in S.I. No: 144 of 2012 states:

“installer of security equipment (cctv)” means a person who installs, maintains, repairs or services security equipment that consists of electronic or other devices, which through visual images, warns of, monitors or records potential or actual unauthorised entry or misconduct on or in the vicinity of premises where such equipment is situated.

Any contractor who installs, maintains, repairs or services CCTV systems as part of a business, trade or profession must hold a PSA licence. Licensing applies to CCTV systems used solely or partially for security purposes.

The PSA issues Temporary Licences for the purpose of allowing contractors obtain the technical standards required for PSA licensing. Temporary Licences are only available to contractors applying for licences in the CCTV and/or Intruder Alarm sectors.

You must wear an identity badge while you provide a security service. This is the law. (Section 30 of the Private Security Services Act 2004 as amended.) If you are a licensed door supervisor, security guard or cash-in-transit operative, the only identity badge that is acceptable is your PSA licence card.

In accordance with the act, individuals shall ensure their licence, which, when worn, is clearly visible.

A Private investigator is defined as a person who in the course of a business, trade or profession conducts investigations into matters on behalf of a client and includes a person who:

(a) obtains or furnishes information in relation to the personal character, actions or occupation of a person,
(b) obtains or furnishes information in relation to the character or kind of business in which a person is engaged,
(c) searches for missing persons,
(d) obtains or furnishes information in relation to the loss or damage of property.

The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016
The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald T.D., today announced the commencement of two Acts:

• The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016
• The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act.

The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 provides that a range of minor offences will become spent after seven years. The provisions of the Act do not apply to persons who are vetted by the PSA for licensing purpose (Section 11(1)(f)). Person vetting forms for PSA licensing must continue to disclose all offences.

From 1 February 2017, contractors providing security services as a locksmith will require a licence from the Private Security Authority. Contractors include sole traders, partnerships and companies.

Automatic Gates fall within the scope of Access Control services as defined by the Private Security Authority (PSA). It is against the law for any person other than a PSA Licensed Access Control contractor to install maintain, service or repair automatic gates. Any person employing an unlicensed contractor is breaking the law and faces penalties ranging from a €3,000 fine up to 5 years imprisonment. A person includes individuals and businesses.

The PSA is concerned by reports that some private investigators are using tracking devices on vehicles without the knowledge or consent of the vehicles owners. The use of vehicle trackers without the consent of the person who either owns or drives the vehicle may be a breach of Data Protection legislation. Private Investigators are required to comply with Data Protection legislation.

Information Note For Locksmiths – Frequently Asked Question
This document relates to questions received from locksmiths in relation to Technical Guidance Documents. It is not a legal interpretation and locksmiths should ensure that they are familiar with the contents of the regulations. The regulations can be found at this link click here. The PSA would like to thank the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government for their assistance in preparing this information note.