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PSA: Private Security Services Act and the PSA Regulatory Framework

PSA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Private Security Services Act and the PSA Regulatory Framework

What the exam tests

This domain covers the statutory backbone of Irish private security: the Private Security Services Act 2004, the Private Security Authority (PSA) it created, and how the licensing regime is policed. Questions are definitional (is this activity a designated service?), procedural (what may an inspector do?) and offence-based (who commits an offence when an unlicensed person works?).

The regulator and its powers

  • The PSA is an independent statutory body established by the Private Security Services Act 2004 and accountable to the Department of Justice.
  • It maintains the public register of licensed contractors and employees, grants, conditions, suspends and revokes licences, publishes standards and codes of practice, appoints inspectors, and prosecutes offences.
  • Designated security services (set by regulation) include door security, security guarding (static, retail, mobile, event), cash-in-transit, security consultancy, private investigation, locksmithing, security equipment installation and monitoring.
  • Licensing is two-tier: the contractor holds a contractor licence and every operative holds an individual licence in the correct category.

Worked example

A hardware shop manager pays a local man €200 in cash to stand on the door during a Christmas sale. Door security is a designated service, so the man needs an individual door security licence and the engagement must be with a licensed contractor. Method of payment, short duration and informality change nothing. The man commits an offence by providing an unlicensed service, his firm commits an offence by supplying it, and the manager may be aiding and abetting. Correct action: contract a PSA-licensed provider and verify both licence numbers on the public register.

Mark-losing traps

  • Confusing the PSA with An Garda Síochána or the Health and Safety Authority.
  • Assuming one licence category authorises all security work.
  • Believing unpaid, voluntary or one-off work escapes the Act.
  • Forgetting that a licence is personal and non-transferable.