Several hundred people seeking to become security guards potentially bought forged documents stating they had the qualifications and training required to work in the sector, a regulator has said.
The Irish Times reported in September that the Private Security Authority (PSA) had revoked licences provided to more than 350 people to work as security guards on the basis that the proof of training submitted was fraudulent.
The regulator has since provided details of the fraud in a letter to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which TDs are expected to consider at a hearing on Thursday.
People seeking to work as security guards must complete the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) level 4 security guarding skills course with an approved training provider, PSA chief executive John Phelan said in the letter.
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The individual then applies to the authority for a licence, enclosing proof of having passed the training course.
The forged documents were sold in-person and online by third parties, the regulator said, with the cost understood to have been similar to the fees for actually doing the course.
The PSA said the cost of obtaining the required qualification typically ranges from €200 to €450, depending on the licence category pursued, the training provider selected and “any additional services included as part of the programme”.
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“At the time the fraud occurred, the authority accepted as proof of training either a copy of an applicant’s certificate awarded by QQI or a training results form completed by the trainer who administered the training course,” Phelan wrote.
“The authority accepted results forms from training providers to enable individuals to take up employment without being delayed for possibly several months while waiting for their QQI certificate to be sent to them.”
The PSA was alerted by a training provider in April 2025 to an individual in possession of a forged training results form, Phelan said. It responded by suspending the issuance of individual licences and put in place procedures to ensure that a new licence “issued only after attendance on the training course was confirmed directly with the relevant training provider by the authority”.
“This scrutiny of the applications on hand revealed that 96 were unsupported by verifiable evidence of training, and those were either withdrawn by the applicant or refused.”
The PSA then reviewed more than 21,000 licences that had been issued since March 2023, with the exercise identifying 355 cases where it could not be established that approved training had been undertaken.
“During the revocation process, some individuals made submissions to the authority. From these, it became apparent that forged training documents had been sold both in-person and online by third parties,” Phelan said.
Phelan told the committee the individuals who purchased forged training results documents “presumably knew that they had not done the relevant training”.
He said 80 per cent of the licences involved were for security guard roles, with the remainder door supervisor or combined security guard/door supervisor licences.
The PSA had not identified any incidents or complaints involving individuals whose licences were revoked, and Phelan said he understood Garda investigations into the matter were ongoing.
The PAC chairman, Sinn Féin TD John Brady, said the scale of the fraud was “deeply concerning”, given that security guards occupy positions “of significant power and responsibility, often dealing directly with members of the public”.
“Those working in the security sector are entrusted with the safety and security of the public, and must be trained to the very highest standards.”
