Data Protection Policy

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG Data Protection Policy

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide a concise policy statement regarding the Data Protection obligations of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG. This includes obligations in dealing with personal data, in order to ensure that the organisation complies with the requirements of the relevant, current Irish and EU Data Protection legislation.

Rationale
Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG must comply with the Data Protection principles set out in the relevant legislation. This Policy applies to all Personal Data collected, processed and stored by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG in relation to its staff, service providers and clients in the course of its activities. Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG makes no distinction between the rights of Data Subjects who are employees, and those who are not. All are treated equally under this Policy.

Scope
The policy covers personal data held in relation to data subjects by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG. The policy applies equally to personal data held in manual and automated form.

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG as a Data Controller

In the course of its daily organisational activities, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG acquires, processes and stores personal data in relation to:

  • Employees of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG
  • Customers of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG
  • Third party service providers engaged by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG

In accordance with the Irish Data Protection legislation, this data must be acquired and managed fairly. Not all staff members will be expected to be experts in Data Protection legislation. However, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG is committed to ensuring that its staff have sufficient awareness of the legislation in order to be able to anticipate and identify a Data Protection issue, should one arise. In such circumstances, staff must ensure that the Data Protection Officer is informed, and in order that appropriate corrective action is taken.

Due to the nature of the services provided by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG, there is regular and active exchange of personal data between Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG and its Data Subjects. In addition, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG exchanges personal data with Data Processors on the Data Subjects’ behalf.

This is consistent with Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG’s obligations under the terms of its contract with its Data Processors.

This policy provides the guidelines for this exchange of information, as well as the procedure to follow in the event that a Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG staff member is unsure whether such data can be disclosed.

In general terms, the staff member should consult with the Data Protection Officer to seek clarification.

Collection and use of personal information

We collect the following types of personal information:

  • Personal information of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG Members (and applicants) including names, addresses, phone numbers, DOB etc., and
  • Personal information of non-members who register for Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG events or courses and
  • Names and email addresses for newsletter subscriptions.
  • Information which is collected via a form or forms explicitly described as competition entry forms. The sole purpose for which this information is collected is to be able to contact website visitors to notify them of competition winners and new competitions.

Names and addresses for newsletter subscriptions

Information collected for this purpose is collected via a form (or forms) explicitly described as newsletter subscription forms. Subscribers are given control over their subscriptions and can opt out or modify their details at anytime. The sole purpose for which this information is collected is the distribution of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG newsletters and updates.

Personal information of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG Members

This information is collected through the membership application forms and annual inspection forms. This information is collected for the following purposes:

  • To support written communication between the Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG and its members, including invoices, annual diary, newsletters, etc.
  • To provide data to government and other agencies when representing the membership & members.

Subject Access Requests

You have a right to be given a copy of your personal data which you may have supplied to Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG. To exercise this right, you must write to the Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG at the address at the top of this page.

You should include any personal identifiers which you supplied earlier (e.g. Name; address; phone number; e-mail address). Your request will be dealt with as soon as possible and will take not more than 40 days to process.

You also have a right to have inaccurate information corrected. If you discover that the Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG holds inaccurate information about you, you have a right to instruct us to correct that information. Such an instruction must be in writing or via e-mail. A request will be dealt with as soon as possible and will take not more than 40 days to process.

In certain circumstance you may also request that data which you have supplied be deleted. To exercise this right you would generally be expected to identify some contravention of data protection law in the manner in which the by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG processes the data concerned.

Third-Party processors

In the course of its role as Data Controller, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG engages a number of Data Processors to process Personal Data on its behalf. In each case, a formal, written contract is in place with the Processor, outlining their obligations in relation to the Personal Data, the specific purpose or purposes for which they are engaged, and the understanding that they will process the data in compliance with the Irish Data Protection legislation.

The Data Protection Principles

The following key principles are enshrined in the Irish legislation and are fundamental to the Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG’s Data Protection policy.

In its capacity as Data Controller, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG ensures that all data shall:

  1. be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully.

For data to be obtained fairly, the data subject will, at the time the data are being collected, be made aware of:

  • The identity of the Data Controller (Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG)
  • The purpose(s) for which the data is being collected
  • The person(s) to whom the data may be disclosed by the Data Controller
  • Any other information that is necessary so that the processing may be fair.

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will meet this obligation in the following way.

  • Where possible, the informed consent of the Data Subject will be sought before their data is processed;
  • Where it is not possible to seek consent, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will ensure that collection of the data is justified under one of the other lawful processing conditions – legal obligation, contractual necessity, etc.;
  • Where Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG intends to record activity on CCTV or video, a Fair Processing Notice will be posted in full view;
  • Processing of the personal data will be carried out only as part of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG’s lawful activities, and Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will safeguard the rights and freedoms of the Data Subject;
  • The Data Subject’s data will not be disclosed to a third party other than to a party contracted to Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG and operating on its behalf.
  1. be obtained only for one or more specified, legitimate purposes.

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will obtain data for purposes which are specific, lawful and clearly stated. A Data Subject will have the right to question the purpose(s) for which Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG holds their data, and Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will be able to clearly state that purpose or purposes.

  1. not be further processed in a manner incompatible with the specified purpose(s).

Any use of the data by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will be compatible with the purposes for which the data was acquired.

  1. be kept safe and secure.

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will employ high standards of security in order to protect the personal data under its care. Appropriate security measures will be taken to protect against unauthorised access to, or alteration, destruction or disclosure of any personal data held by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG in its capacity as Data Controller.

Access to and management of staff and customer records is limited to those staff members who have appropriate authorisation and password access.

  1. be kept accurate, complete and up-to-date where necessary.

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will:

  • ensure that administrative and IT validation processes are in place to conduct regular assessments of data accuracy;
  • conduct periodic reviews and audits to ensure that relevant data is kept accurate and up-to- date. Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG conducts a review of sample data every six months to ensure accuracy; Staff contact details and details on next-of-kin are reviewed and updated every two years.
  • conduct regular assessments in order to establish the need to keep certain Personal Data.
  1. be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose(s) for which the data were collected and processed.

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG will ensure that the data it processes in relation to Data Subjects are relevant to the purposes for which those data are collected. Data which are not relevant to such processing will not be acquired or maintained.

  1. not be kept for longer than is necessary to satisfy the specified purpose(s).

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG has identified an extensive matrix of data categories, with reference to the appropriate data retention period for each category. The matrix applies to data in both a manual and automated format.

Once the respective retention period has elapsed, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG undertakes to destroy, erase or otherwise put this data beyond use.

  1. be managed and stored in such a manner that, in the event a Data Subject submits a valid Subject Access Request seeking a copy of their Personal Data, this data can be readily retrieved and provided to them.

Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG has implemented a Subject Access Request procedure by which to manage such requests in an efficient and timely manner, within the timelines stipulated in the legislation.

Implementation

As a Data Controller, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG ensures that any entity which processes Personal Data on its behalf (a Data Processor) does so in a manner compliant with the Data Protection legislation.

Failure of a Data Processor to manage Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG’s data in a compliant manner will be viewed as a breach of contract, and will be pursued through the courts. Failure of Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG’s staff to process Personal Data in compliance with this policy may result in disciplinary proceedings.

Complaints about data processed via the website

If you are concerned about how personal data are processed via this website, please do not hesitate to bring such concerns to the attention of our Data Protection Officer at info@irishoa.ie.

Definitions

For the avoidance of doubt, and for consistency in terminology, the following definitions will apply within this Policy.

Data

This includes both automated and manual data.

Automated data means data held on computer, or stored with the intention that it is processed on computer.

Manual data means data that is processed as part of a relevant filing system, or which is stored with the intention that it forms part of a relevant filing system.

Personal Data

Information which relates to a living individual, who can be identified either directly from that data, or indirectly in conjunction with other data which is likely to come into the legitimate possession of the Data Controller. (If in doubt, Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG refers to the definition issued by the Article 29 Working Party, and updated from time to time.)

Sensitive Personal Data

A particular category of Personal data, relating to: Racial or Ethnic Origin, Political Opinions, Religious, Ideological or Philosophical beliefs, Trade Union membership, Information relating to mental or physical health, information in relation to one’s Sexual Orientation, information in relation to commission of a crime and information relating to conviction for a criminal offence.

Data Controller

A person or entity who, either alone or with others, controls the content and use of Personal Data by determining the purposes and means by which that Personal Data is processed.

Data Subject

A living individual who is the subject of the Personal Data, i.e. to whom the data relates either directly or indirectly.

Data Processor

A person or entity who processes Personal Data on behalf of a Data Controller on the basis of a formal, written contract, but who is not an employee of the Data Controller, processing such Data in the course of his/her employment.

Data Protection Officer

A person appointed by Irish Organic Farmers & Growers Association CLG to monitor compliance with the appropriate Data Protection legislation, to deal with Subject Access Requests, and to respond to Data Protection queries from staff members and service recipients.

Relevant Filing System

Any set of information in relation to living individuals which is not processed by means of equipment operating automatically (computers), and that is structured, either by reference to individuals, or by reference to criteria relating to individuals, in such a manner that specific information relating to an individual is readily retrievable.