Data Protection Policy 

IEN Data Protection Policy 

Purpose of this policy 

This policy is a statement of the IEN’s commitment to protecting the rights and privacy of individuals in accordance with the Data Protection Acts (1988) and (2003) and the General Data Protection Regulation (2019).

Collecting information 

It is our policy to collect and use the minimum possible amount of personal information. When we collect information as part of our work, we will indicate, at the time of collection what uses the data is being collected for and if any part of the information is likely to be published.  

Our website privacy policy is included in Appendix 1 of this policy. 

Data Protection Principles 

We shall perform our responsibilities under the Data Protection Acts in accordance with the following eight Data Protection principles: 

1. Obtain and process information fairly 

We shall obtain and process personal data fairly and in accordance with statutory and other legal obligations.

2. Keep it only for one or more specified, explicit, and lawful purposes

We shall keep personal data for purposes that are specific, lawful, and clearly stated. Personal data will only be processed in a manner compatible with these purposes as defined. 

3. Use and disclose only in ways compatible with these purposes 

We shall use and disclose personal data only in circumstances necessary for the purposes for which we collected the data. 

4. Keep it safe and secure 

We shall take appropriate security measures against unauthorized access to, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of personal data and against its accidental loss or destruction. 

5. Keep it accurate, complete, and up-to-date 

We adopt procedures that ensure high levels of data accuracy, and completeness, and that data is up-to-date. 

6. Ensure it is adequate, relevant, and not excessive 

We shall only hold personal data to the extent that it is adequate, relevant, and not excessive. 

7. Retain for no longer than is necessary 

Personal data will be reviewed at least annually for relevance and accuracy. Data that is no longer required or relevant will be deleted. Our retention policy will mirror the legal requirements for Ireland. 

8. Give a copy of his/ her personal data to that individual, on request 

We adopt procedures to ensure that data subjects can exercise their rights under the Data Protection legislation to access their data. 

Responsibility 

Overall responsibility for ensuring compliance with Data Protection Acts rests with the IEN. All employees and contractors of the IEN who separately collect, control, or process the content and use of personal data are individually responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Acts. the IEN’s Data Protection Officer coordinates the provision of support, assistance, advice, and training within the IEN to ensure that the company is in a position to comply with the legislation. 

Procedures and Guidelines 

The IEN is firmly committed to ensuring personal privacy and compliance with the Data Protection Acts, including the provision of best practice guidelines and procedures in relation to all aspects of Data Protection. 

Review 

This Data Protection Policy will be reviewed regularly in light of any legislative or other relevant developments. 

Data Protection Officer 

Justin Byrne is the designated Data Protection Officer for the Irish Environmental Network and the Environmental Pillar. He can be contacted at: 

Data Protection Officer 

Irish Environmental Network 

MACRO Centre 

1 Green St 

Dublin 7 

Tel: 01 8780116 

Email: Justin@ien.ie 

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Appendix 1 

 IEN Websites Privacy Policy 

Introduction  

We at the IEN respect your right to privacy and comply with our obligations under the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003. The purpose of this website’s Privacy Policy is to outline how we deal with any personal data you provide to us while visiting this website. Naturally, if you are not happy with the content of this Privacy Policy you should not use this website. 

By visiting the IEN websites, you are accepting the terms of this Privacy Statement. Any external links to other websites are clearly identifiable as such, and we are not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of these other websites. 

Types of Information Collected  

We retain two types of information: 

• Personal Data 

This is data that identifies you or can be used to identify or contact you and may include your name, address, email address, user IP addresses in circumstances where they have not been deleted, clipped, or anonymized, telephone number, and billing and credit card information. Such information is only collected from you if you voluntarily submit it to us. 

• Non-Personal Data 

Like most websites, we gather statistical and other analytical information collected on an aggregate basis from all visitors to our website. This non-personal data comprises information that cannot be used to identify or contact you, such as demographic information regarding, for example, user IP addresses where they have been clipped or anonymized, browser types, and other anonymous statistical data involving the use of our website. 

Purposes for which we hold your Information  

• Non-Personal Data 

We use the non-personal data gathered from visitors to our website in an aggregate form to get a better understanding of where our visitors come from and to help us better design and organize our website. 

• Cookies 

This website uses “cookie” technology. A cookie is a little piece of text stored by the browser on your computer, at the request of our server. We may use cookies to deliver content specific to your interests and to save your personal preferences so you do not have to re-enter them each time you connect to our website – our cookies are not available to other websites. 

No personal information is recorded, and the cookie is automatically deleted when you log out or close your browser. You are always free to decline our cookies, if your browser permits, or to ask your browser to indicate when a cookie is being sent. You can also delete cookie files from your computer at your discretion. Note that if you decline our cookies or ask for a notification each time a cookie is sent, this may affect your ease of use of this website. 

• Personal Data 

We will process any Personal Data you provide to us for the following purposes: 

a) to contact you to respond to any communications you might send to us;  

b) to send you the Green News, and IEN Newsletter and to communicate with you about other activities.  

Disclosure of Information to Third Parties  

We may provide non-personal data to third parties, where such information is combined with similar information of other users of our website. For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of unique users who visit our website, the demographic breakdown of the community users of our website, or the activities that visitors to our website engage in while on our website. The third parties to whom we may provide this information may include potential or actual advertisers, providers of advertising services (including website tracking services), commercial partners, sponsors, licensees, researchers, and other similar parties. 

We will not disclose your personal data to third parties unless you have consented to this disclosure. We will disclose your personal data if we believe in good faith that we are required to disclose it in order to comply with any applicable law, a summons, a search warrant, a court or regulatory order, or other statutory requirements. 

1. Security  

Your personal data is held on secure servers. The nature of the Internet is such that we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us via the Internet. No data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. However, we will take all reasonable steps (including appropriate technical and organizational measures) to protect your personal data. 

2. Updating, Verifying, and Deleting Personal Data  

You also have a right to have your personal data corrected, if inaccurate, or, in certain circumstances, erased. Please forward any such requests by email to office@ien.ie 

3. Right of Access to Your Personal Data  

To find out what personal data we hold on you or to have your personal data updated, amended, or removed from our database, please contact office@ien.ie 

4. Changes to the Privacy Policy  

Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be posted on this website so you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any time we decide to use personal data in a manner significantly different from that stated in this website, Privacy Policy, or otherwise disclosed to you at the time it was collected, we will notify you by email, and you will have a choice as to whether or not we use your information in a new manner. 

5. Governing Law and Jurisdiction  

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of Ireland and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts. 

6. Questions or Comments  

If you wish to contact us to discuss any matter in relation to this Privacy Policy or our processing of your personal data, please feel free to contact us by email at office@ien.ie 

Appendix 2 

IEN Data retention policy 

The IEN data retention policy will mirror the legal requirement for Ireland. 

 All Personal Data will be reviewed at least annually and will be deleted if no longer required. 

The below list details the cookies used on our website.