Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is governed by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) and the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA), a trade union affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, is the data controller (contact details below). This means the POA determines how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

POA complies with its obligations under the GDPR by keeping personal data up to date; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data; by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data. We use your personal data for the purposes of providing you with trade union representation and other trade union services. 

We process personal data on the legal basis of our legitimate interests as a trade union established to represent the rights of members pursuant to Article 6 (1)(a) of the GDPR and we process special categories of personal data relating to your trade union membership pursuant to Article 9(1)(d) of the GDPR in connection with the legitimate activities of the POA.

In certain circumstance, we need to share personal data in pursuit of our legitimate interests, for example the use of processors to manage communications, surveys or the secure storage of your data. We may also share your data with individuals or organisations who provide services to POA Members and we will tell you when we plan to do so.

All personal data is stored within the European Economic Area or countries whose data protection regimes have been designated as adequate by the European Commission. We will not transfer any data to a third country or international organisation without your explicit consent and without appropriate privacy safeguards in place.

We keep data in accordance with the guidance set out within our formal records retention policies and do not maintain data beyond what is absolutely required for the purpose of providing you with trade union representation and other services or where otherwise required by law.

You have the following rights with respect to your personal data: –

• The right to request a copy of your personal data, which POA holds about you.
• The right to request that POA correct any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date.
• The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary or lawful for POA to retain such data.
• The right to request that POA provide you with a copy of your personal data and, in certain circumstances, to transmit that data directly to another data controller.
• The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing.
• The right to object to the processing of personal data.
• The right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission.

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Privacy Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice. The new notice will explain the new use of your personal data prior to commencing the processing. It will set out the relevant purposes and processing conditions.

To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints please in the first instance contact the DPO at the following location.

Prison Officers Association

18 Merrion Square

Dublin 2

TEL: 01 662 5495 

EMAIL: dpo@poa.ie

Data Protection Commission which you can contact by phone: (0761)104 800; via email info@dataprotection.ie or by writing to:

The Data Protection Commissioner,

Canal House,

Station Road,

Portarlington,

Co. Laois,

R32 AP23.