Dublin doormen face sanctions

Doormen working in a number of bars and clubs in Dublin city centre face fines and could have their licence to operate suspended after being caught not wearing identity badges.

The move comes after an inspection of nine premises in the Dublin 1 area on Friday last by the Private Security Authority (PSA), the statutory body with responsibility for licensing and regulating doormen and security guards operating privately in Ireland.

Inspectors said sanctions would be issued against nine doormen for not wearing identity badges as legally required.

New legislation which makes it compulsory for security guards and doormen to have clearly visible ID badges while working came into force in September 2009.

According to the authority's inspection, 97 per cent of all individuals working as doormen at bars visited were licensed but only 70 per cent of these were wearing their ID. The majority of those found in breach of the requirements were employed by security contractors rather than employed directly by the venue.

An individual’s licence can be suspended or revoked if they fail to wear their badge and they could face fines of up to €3,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both. Premises which employ unlicenced doormen also face heavy fines if caught.

Geraldine Larkin, chief executive of the authority said the compliance rate for those wearing ID badges was "unsatisfactory given that the majority of them were employed by security contractors who would be very aware of the ID badge requirement."

She said that in addition to regular compliance inspections, the authority would be revisiting premises where non-compliance was found.

Licensing of doormen and security guards began in April 2007.

In total there are 10,082 individuals in Co Dublin licenced to provide security services, of which 1,628 are licensed to operate as doormen while 7,883 are licenced as security guards. A further 571 individuals are licensed to work in both sectors.

Nationally, there are almost 25,000 people licenced, of which 6,038 are doormen while 16,440 are security guards. A further 2,210 individuals are licensed to work in both sectors.

The authority maintains a register of both contractor and individual licence holders on its website, www.psa.gov.ie.