A new licence for the supply and installation of safes and strongrooms in Ireland will be launched by the P.S.A. in the near future. From that point on, it will be illegal to purchase an insurance certified safe from an unlicensed supplier.
The safe and vault industry in Ireland has been plagued by the same issues the locksmith industry has – from cheap, inferior products sold as high security to inexperienced, untrained individuals destroying locks and doors so that customers are forced to replace entire units. The majority of safes sold in Ireland are not fit for the purpose they were bought for. It is more and more common to see thin steel boxes filled only with wood or plastic sold as high security safes, despite having no insurance cover whatsoever. Many of these boxes are unable to withstand attack from a cheap angle grinder or even just a crowbar.
With the introduction of the P.S.A. licence for safe suppliers and installers, it will be illegal to buy an insurance certified safe from an unlicensed supplier. It will also be illegal to engage an unlicensed supplier to service, install or maintain safes or strongrooms. Formal documentation of E.U. certification will have to accompany any safe sold and will be necessary for insurance companies to cover any safe requiring overnight cash cover. Both the supplier and the purchaser of an unlicensed service or product can be prosecuted if caught.
Our chief technician William Hamill has been sitting on the The Private Security Authority Of Ireland Working Group for the new licensing requirement for Suppliers And Installers Of Safes. William was specifically invited as a representative of Safe Technicians and Installers and as an expert on non-invasive opening methods of safes and vaults, being acknowledged as the foremost expert on the subject in the country. The European safe and vault testing and certification system was designed as a safeguard to “cowboy” safe manufacturers and suppliers within and outside Europe who have flooded the European market with low end metal containers described as “safes”.
EN Standards Related To Cabinets, Safes And Strong Rooms:
Secure cabinets. Grades S1 and S2
Free-standing safes, built-in safes (floor and wall), ATM safes and ATM bases, strongroom doors and strongrooms (with or without a door) according to their burglary resistance. This European Standard does not cover testing and classifying deposit systems. ATM is a totally different classification to safes. There is no physical attack test for ATM units at present.
Deposit systems and classifies the systems according to their burglary resistance and their resistance to the theft of deposits. This EU Standard comprises two types of deposit system: – night safes and deposit safes.
High-security locks intended for safes and vaults are awarded a grade for burglary-resistance.
As They Relate To Overnight Insurance Cover
€2,500.00 – This is a “secure cabinet” classification
€5,000.00 – This is a “secure cabinet” classification
| Grade 0 – €7,500 Locks Required: 1 Lock Class: A |
Grade 1 – €12,500 Locks Required: 1 Lock Class: A |
Grade 2 – €25,000 Locks Required: 1 Lock Class: A |
| Grade 3 – €50,000 Locks Required: 1 Lock Class: B |
Grade 4 – €90,000 Locks Required: 2 Lock Class: B |
Grade 5 – €150,000 Locks Required: 2 Lock Class: B |
| Grade 6 – €200,000 Locks Required: 2 Lock Class: C |
Grade 7 – €375,000 Locks Required: 2 Lock Class: C |
Grade 8 – €600,000 Locks Required: 2 Lock Class: C |
| Grade 9 – €975,000 Locks Required: 2 Lock Class: C |
Grade 10 – €1.5M Locks Required: 2 Lock Class: C |
Grade 11 – €2.25M Locks Required: 2(3) Lock Class: D(C) |
| Grade 12 – €3.37M Locks Required: 2(3) Lock Class: D(C) |
Grade 13 – €5.25M Locks Required: 3 Lock Class: D |
These standards were developed by CEN (European Committee for Standardization) which is the only E.U. recognized organisation that can issue European standards for testing and classifying free-standing safes, built-in safes (floor and wall), ATM safes and ATM bases, strong room doors and strong rooms.