Regulating the security industry was never going to be an easy task. So what has the PSA done to date?

We have so far focused our attention on four sectors . . .security guarding, door security, intruder alarms and monitoring centres. We are now more than 12 months on from the critical dates, and a substantial portion of companies operating in these areas are now licensed. So, for the first time, we are achieving an industry standard, with companies now required to be tax compliant, and to be vetted by the Gardai.

And what happens now?

The next challenge is to ensure that the licences are seen as living instruments. It is not just a case of achieving a licence, and we will need to monitor the companies to ensure that standards are maintained. Where we find faults, we can undertake a number of measures up to suspending the licence, and where companies refuse to become licensed, we can prosecute . . . indeed, to date we have been successful with five prosecutions, and we expect more.

It is also an offence for companies to employ unlicensed operators, and we have legal proceedings in place against a number of companies for that reason.

So some companies are still not getting their licencesf We feel that the industry has responded. Even as recently as March 2005, there was widespread belief that the whole thing would not happen, but we have seen substantial compliance with the legislation.

Companies are one thing. But the next task is to ensure that all individuals involved in door security and security guarding are licensed. Do you think that you will have a problem?

We have already set up the mandatory date for individual licensing, and so far we have received 14,500 applications.

Will that be your greatest achievement to date?

We have achieved quite a bit already. Look at the profile of security guarding companies . . . 70% of these are in the small income bracket, all smaller companies which had never had to operate to standards. The fact that these companies have stepped up to the mark is something that I am very proud of . . . it is easy to achieve a standard if you are already at ISO 9000 standard.

And has there been a sea change within the overall security industry?

There has certainly been an embracing of standards.

But the sea change that you are talking about is only starting, and it will take some time before people see the full work of regulation. Only when people are licensed, and they see the career paths available in the security industry, will we see the full effects. And now that the PSA has set the bar, it will be up to the industry, and the companies themselves, to distinguish themselves from the rest.