The number of employee licences in force in the Republic of Ireland as badged by the Private Security Authority rose 4.6 per cent last year, according to figures released by the PSA. Some 52,977 employee licences last year compared with 50,636 the year before.
The PSA, the equivalent of the UK’s Security Industry Authority (SIA), broke the total down into sectors. Those badged to carry out cash in transit (CIT) duties fell by a seventh, from 999 to 863, presumably due to the economy shifting to cashless. There were slightly fewer door supervisers last year: 12,733 compared with 12,895 the year before. Private investigators (not badged in the UK) rose further, from 254 to 267.
The main sector by far is security guard; which reached 38,018, a rise of 6.8 per cent in the year. The most marked rise by sector was in monitoring centre operators; by 14.6 per cent, to 1037. As for contractor licences, they remained steady around 1650; as did the handful of such licences revoked; although the number of employee licences revoked rose noticeably, to 243, from 35 the previous year.
Some background
While the PSA and SIA began at roughly the same time in the mid-2000s, they have developed differently, due to different appetites for regulation from those in power politically. The Republic licences electronic security installation; and locksmiths; while the UK’s Private Security Industry Act 2001 which led to the SIA did include investigators (and consultants), yet nothing came of either. The Tipperary-based PSA hosted SIA chief exec Michelle Russell and senior SIA people on February 4.
For the figures in full visit https://www.psa-gov.ie/.
Comparisons
Because the SIA’s badges allow someone with a door licence to work as a contract security guard, but not the other way around, in contrast to the Republic the UK’s licensed sector has mostly door badges – as of February 2026, some 71 per cent or 368,546 badges were for door security, out of a total of 517,144 (more than the number of badge holders, because some hold more than one, typically for guarding and CCTV monitoring).
For monthly data on SIA licence holders visit the SIA website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sia-licence-holders. As of February 2026, the UK had some 458,000 SIA badged people, slightly down on the 460,000 of the month before.
Photo by Mark Rowe: Security officers at the gateline of Dublin Connolly station last year.
