Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I welcome the opportunity to set out some details of the work of the PSA. Established under the Private Security Services Act 2004, it is the regulatory body with responsibility for regulating and licensing the private security industry. The authority is an independent body. Although it operates under the aegis of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, which provides its funding, the Minister has no role in the granting or refusal of licences.

The Minister is informed that, following the establishment of the PSA, the licensing of contractors commenced in April 2006. The next people to be licensed were individuals working as door supervisors and security guards, work that commenced in April 2007. In the past three years, the authority has received in excess of 1,750 contractor applications and 30,000 individual applications.

Licences issued to individuals are backed by a recognised qualification, which ensures that all those working in the industry have been trained to a high standard. The authority has put in place a standards and qualifications based licensing system which also involves criminal records checking for all applicants. Contrary to what has appeared in some newspapers during the past number of days, the Minister understands that all applicants are vetted by An Garda Síochána before any licence is issued.

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