In Newman House, Dublin 2

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to be present here today to announce the accreditation of the National Standards Authority of Ireland to the intruder alarm standard. Indeed, the NSAI is the first certification body in the country to achieve this specific status and as such deserves significant praise for being in this pioneering position.

The private security industry has grown rapidly in recent years. In fact, I remember the impressive NSAI Annual Conference at the end of 2005 on this topic. Good practice in the area of security is a matter of extreme public interest from the reduction of insurance premiums to the saving of money, time and lives.

All alarm installers in the country will have to meet technical requirements for licensing by the Private Security Authority. The means to meet these requirements is through certification to the EN 50131. NSAI operates this certification scheme under which alarm installers have their operations and procedures assessed by NSAI auditors. After corrective action is taken for any anomalies, the installer is certified and granted a licence to use the Irish Standard Mark on installations. The licensee’s name is passed to the Garda Siochána to enable them to provide a response to alarm activations.

EN 50131 is a suite of new European standards for the installation and maintenance of intruder alarms. Its aim is to further reduce false alarm activations in conjunction with An Garda Siochána policy. The complete EN standards suite is expected by 2009 and it is important that manufacturers, installers and customers are aware of the changes being introduced in order to prepare for the transition to the full suite of European norms.

EN 50131-1 specifies the General Requirements and is applicable for any kind of alarm technology.

In aiming for accreditation to this standard, the NSAI was obliged to undergo a witnessed installation assessment and also demonstrate the effectiveness of their certification process to an independent body, namely the United Kingdom Accreditation Services. I have been reliably informed that throughout the audit, UKAS was highly complimentary of the technical competence and professionalism of the NSAI and particularly its certification officers involved in monitoring the certification program.

While this was undoubtedly a team effort, the principal officers who warrant special mention are George Lowrie, Michael O’Donnell, Bill Grattan and Larry Foote, while also acknowledging the important role of Brian Hoy and Aine Woods in this process. May I genuinely congratulate you all for your unique contribution.

The fact that the NSAI is the first body to achieve this accreditation is proof positive of your worthy efforts.

In conclusion, I am delighted to formally mark the occasion of the accreditation of the NSAI to the intruder alarm standard EN 50131.

ENDS

TC 276