Pat Testing Ireland
PAT testing Ireland — Browne Fire and Security has been carries out portable appliance testing for Irish businesses since. Done to meet the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and supporting regulations, logged and labelled on every appliance, family-run for three generations, based in Killinick, Co. Wexford and covering the south-east and beyond. Free site survey, transparent pricing, no pressure sales calls.
What PAT testing actually is
PAT testing Ireland — PAT being short for Portable Appliance Testing — is the routine inspection and electrical testing of any workplace appliance with a plug on it. Under Irish workplace safety law, every employer must make sure the electrical equipment their staff and customers use is safe, and that means periodic inspection and testing by a competent person. It covers everything from the kettle in the staff room to the extension leads in the workshop, the microwaves in a hotel kitchen, the salon hairdryers, the office printers, and the power tools on a construction site. Each appliance is inspected, tested, labelled with a unique ID and either passed for continued use or removed from service on the spot.
The law in Ireland — what employers actually have to do re PAT Testing Ireland
The primary legislation is the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007). Together they place a duty on employers to ensure that all portable electrical equipment used in the workplace is maintained in a safe condition.
What PAT testing Ireland actually looks like on site
- Visual inspection of plug, cable, flex and casing for every applianc
- Earth continuity test on Class I equipment
- Insulation resistance test
- Polarity check
- Earth leakage test where appropriate
- Microwave leakage test on kitchen equipment and staff-break appliances
- IT equipment and low-power devices tested at appropriate reduced limits (so nothing gets damaged)
- Every item labelled with a unique test ID, date and pass/fail
- Fresh asset register produced or updated
- Failed appliances removed from service on the spot with a photo and written note
- Certificate issued at the end of the round, ready for insurance, HSA or new-tenant inspection
How often do appliances need PAT testing?
Annual testing for typical office and retail appliances — laptops, monitors, printers, kettles, low-use kitchen kit. Six-monthly for harder-use equipment — busy commercial kitchens, hairdressing salons, workshops, extension leads used in damp or outdoor environments, and appliances that get moved around a lot. Every three months for 230V equipment on active construction sites, where the environment is genuinely rough and the risk of cable damage is high. We give every new client a recommended schedule at the end of the free site survey, and we set the diary reminder ourselves so you’re not chasing us for the next round.
Compliant under Irish workplace safety law
Every PAT testing round is carried out to satisfy the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the supporting 2007 regulations. Where the appliance sits within a fixed electrical installation, we also test against the current national wiring rules, I.S. 10101:2020. You’ll get a unique ID label on every appliance, an asset register, a pass/fail certificate at the end of the round, and a clear photo of any appliance we had to take out of service. Your paperwork is ready the moment a HSA inspector, insurance auditor or new tenant asks to see it.
Who needs PAT testing?
If you employ someone, or if members of the public use electrical appliances on your premises, you need PAT testing. That covers pretty much every commercial building in Ireland — hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafés, offices, coworking spaces, shops, salons, barbers, gyms, schools, crèches, nursing homes, GP practices, dental surgeries, factories, warehouses, farms, garages, motor dealerships, churches, community centres, holiday lets, Airbnbs and any construction site. Landlords letting furnished commercial or residential property to tenants are also on the hook. If in doubt: if it plugs in and someone else uses it, it should be tested.
Where we cover
We’re based in Killinick, Co. Wexford and our engineers are on the road across the south-east most days of the week. We cover Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, south Tipperary, Wicklow and the surrounding counties as our regular patch, and for multi-site operators we cover the country.