More than 1,100 private security workers licensed in Westmeath

More than 1,100 people in Westmeath held licences to work in the private security sector at the end of 2025, according to figures contained in the latest annual report of the Private Security Authority (PSA).

The report shows that a total of 1,125 individual security licences were held by people in the county at December 31 last.

The majority (787) were security guard licences, while 319 were door supervisor licences.

There were also five cash-in-transit monitoring licences, two private investigator licences and 12 enforcement guard licences.

The figures put Westmeath among the larger counties outside Dublin in terms of the number of people working in the licensed private security industry.

Across the state, the PSA reported a total of 52,977 individual licences at the end of 2025, an increase of more than 3,000 on the previous year.

The number of licensed individuals nationally rose from 41,679 in 2024 to 43,958 in 2025. Some workers hold more than one licence.

The PSA also reported a significant increase in enforcement activity during the year, and that 1,033 compliance cases were processed, compared with 805 in 2024.

A total of 249 licences were revoked during 2025, compared with 42 the previous year.

The authority said the increase in revocations reflected significant work to verify training results and ensure the integrity of the licensing system.

The private security industry nationally also recorded substantial growth, as turnover reported by licensed contractors rose from €1.07 billion in 2024 to €1.18 billion in 2025.

There were 1,383 licensed security contractors at the end of last year, operating across sectors including electronic security, locksmithing, private investigation, alarm monitoring, event security and static security guarding.

The PSA said it had processed almost 18,800 applications during 2025 and completed 118 contractor inspections.

The authority also introduced two new standards during the year and prosecuted an unlicensed security guard as part of efforts to tackle unlicensed activity.

The report states that the PSA’s new 2026–2028 strategic plan will focus on strengthening regulation and enforcement, improving standards and professional practice, modernising its systems and building organisational capacity.