Rules may leave homeowners without repairs for alarms

Householders with burglar alarms installed by small electrical businesses could find themselves with no one to repair or maintain them following the introduction of regulations by the Private Security Authority, according to a group representing electricial contractors.

From August 1st, electrical companies and sole traders who do not register for a licence with the authority will be breaking the law if they attempt to maintain or repair alarms they have already fitted, and could face fines of €3,000 or five years in prison. A two-year licence for businesses with a turnover of €650,000 or less will cost €2,250, rising to €19,000 for the largest companies. The cost will make working in the industry unviable for small operators, according to the Association of Electrical Contractors of Ireland.

The authority has responsibility for licensing firms and individuals in all sections of the private security industry including doormen, cash-in-transit operators, locksmiths and those installing and providing alarms and safes. Companies or individuals who fit alarms are required to register for a licence with the authority by August 1st next.

It will be an offence for them to operate without a licence after that date. They will be prohibited from maintaining alarms that they have already fitted and will be unable to assist existing customers who have problems with their alarms.

George Kennedy, executive secretary of the electrical contractors group, said the association had no problem with the industry being regulated, but the licence fee would have a serious effect on its members.

"Some of our members will have to opt out of the business because the fee will make the overheads too high to carry. And maintenance contracts given by members who opt out will be inoperable," Mr Kennedy said.

Michael Kilcoyne, chairman of the Consumer Association of Ireland, said the regulations would leave householders carrying the cost.

"And if as a result of this legislation competition is eliminated, it will mean higher prices for the consumer," he said.

He called on the security authority to allow small electrical businesses to continue to operate their existing maintenance contracts.

"It shouldn't be the consumer who pays for it. If there are contracts they will have to be honoured," he said.

A spokesman for the authority said the standards set by the body were minimum standards. "This is being done in a drive to gain public and consumer confidence in the private security industry," he said.

The days of the local handyman fitting locks to the neighbourhood's front doors may also be numbered. A final date has not yet been set for the registration of locksmiths, but it is expected to be near the end of 2006.

Public consultation on the operating standards for locksmiths will take place prior to the final date. Details of how the legislation will be interpreted have not yet been finalised.

But the authority could preclude anyone other than registered locksmiths from putting locks on doors. And builders could be obliged to bring in locksmiths to fit locks on the doors of new homes.