The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage confirms that any information, which you submit via this portal will be treated with the highest possible standards of security and confidentiality, strictly in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
How we collect your information
The Department’s Online Consultation portal collects personal information from you so that you can submit your response to the public consultation on the Exempted Development Regulations. Your data is collected in the following ways:
- Directly from your written input to the portal via the registration form, submission forms and
- Automatically through the portal’s use of cookies
The information you provide
We collect the following information about you from your use of the portal:
Information you provide directly to us:
- Your name and email address
- Usernames and passwords;
- Logging acceptance of the Privacy Policy
Information that is Automatically Collected
We may automatically collect certain information about the computer or devices (including mobile devices or tablets) you use to access the consultation portal. Such information includes:
- Account creation and last log-in date and time;
- IP address
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With your consent using optional analytics cookies, which records device information such as:
- Location information (by country and city)
- Unique device identifiers
- IMEI and TCP/IP address
- browser types,
- browser language
- screen resolution
- operating system,
- mobile device carrier information, and
We use MTCaptcha to ensure the security of the portal and protect against spam and abuse. The data collected by MTCaptcha is used solely for security purposes and to prevent fraudulent activities. See MTCaptcha's Captcha Plugin Privacy Policy.
What we need and why we need it
We may use information we hold about you in the following ways:
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Information you give us. We will use this information:
- to carry out our obligations to process your responses to public consultations;
- to notify you of confirmation that we have received your response to a consultation;
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Information collected about you by the portal. This information is used:
- to administer the portal and for internal operations, including troubleshooting and testing.
- to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer or mobile device;
- to keep the portal safe and secure; and
Our legal basis for using your information
The primary legal basis for processing your personal data is is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the department.
This legal basis is grounded in Section 9 of the Planning and Development Act 2024.
How long we hold your data
A maximum of 60 days after the closure date of the consultation, your username and password will no longer be retained by the Department, and your account will no longer be active.
The department will retain the submission and other personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and processed. In line with legislative and business requirements.
Storage of your information, international data transfers and security
Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our portal, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
The department implements appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access. However, despite these efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse.
The Department will not transfer personal data collected in respect of this consultation to any country or international organisation outside the EU/EEA.
Automated decision-making
Your personal data is not used for any automated decision-making.
Your rights
The Department's Data Protection Policy, which sets out how we will use your personal data, as well as providing information regarding your rights as a data subject (including details regarding right of access, right to rectification, right to erasure, right to restriction of processing, right to object), is available on our website. The policy is also available in hard copy upon request. If you consider that your rights have been infringed, you have the right to complain to the Irish Data Protection Commission (www.dataprotection.ie), and you have the right to seek a judicial remedy.
Concerns or complaints
The Department is the Data Controller when processing your personal data for the purposes outlined above. The Department’s contact details are available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/839bc-contact-the-department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/
The Department has appointed a Data Protection Officer to support its compliance with data protection law. The contact details for the Department’s Data Protection Officer are:
Data Protection Officer
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Newtown Road
Wexford
Email: data.protection@housing.gov.ie