Poor Clare Sisters Privacy Statement

The Poor Clare Sisters ("The charity, We and Us") are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This privacy policy (together with our terms and conditions and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from "You", or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.

Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By visiting poorclarescork.ie you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy. This website is maintained by Denis O’Regan on behalf of the Poor Clare Sisters, hitherto “The charity, We and Us” a religious order and registered charity (RCN: 20002015) located in the Diocese of Cork and Ross, Republic or Ireland.

Any personal data you volunteer will be used for the purpose for which you supply it and will be treated with the highest standards of security and confidentiality, strictly in accordance with data protection principles, the Data Protection Act 1998, and applicable EU directives. It will only be shared, where you have given consent.

This statement relates to our privacy practices in connection with this website, the mailing list and Social Media presence. Some technical terms used in this statement are explained at the end of this page.

Data Protection Acts

The Data Protection Acts are designed to protect people’s privacy. They give effect to the Council of Europe Data Protection Convention. The Acts confer rights on individuals in relation to the privacy of their personal data as well as responsibilities on those persons holding and processing such data. They can be found at https://dbei.gov.ie/en/Data-Protection/

What is "personal data"?

Personal data means data relating to a person who is or can be identified either from the data itself or in conjunction with other information that is in, or is likely to come into, the possession of the charity. It covers any information that relates to an identifiable, living individual. This data can be held on computers or in manual files.

Regulation (EU) 2016/6791, the European Union’s ('EU') new General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’), regulates the processing by an individual, a company or an organisation of personal data relating to individuals in the EU.

Data Controller

A "data controller" means a person who, either alone or with others, controls the contents and use of personal data.

The Data Controller for the Poor Clare Sisters is the Mother Abbess, Poor Clare Monastery, College Road, Cork T12 WK6V

The Charity's obligations

The charity has obligations under Data Protection Law that:

  • Data must be obtained and processed fairly.
  • Data must be accurate, complete and where necessary, kept up to date.
  • Data must have been obtained only for one or more specified, explicit and legitimate purpose.
  • Data must not be further processed in a manner incompatible with that purpose.
  • Data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which they were collected or are further processed.
  • Data must not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose.
  • Appropriate security measures must be taken against unauthorised access to, or unauthorised alteration, disclosure or destruction of the data, where the processing involves the transmission of data over a network, and against all other unlawful forms of processing. The Charity employs the most appropriate physical and technical measures, including training and awareness and these are reviewed regularly.

We as a charity owe a duty of care to the data subjects concerned, i.e. we take care not to cause any damage or distress by, for example, maintaining inaccurate information on our files, or disclosing personal data to someone who is not entitled to this data.

The Charity takes its obligations very seriously and adopts the strongest line in relation to the misuse of information by any of its staff or volunteers. Staff and volunteers, past and present commit to Confidentiality Agreements set out by The Charity. Any breach of trust regarding the confidentiality of information is treated as serious misconduct and can lead to sanctions up to and including dismissal. Evidence of breach of confidentiality, or transfer of data by past members of staff or volunteers where proven, will also be taken seriously, and solutions sought through legal process.

Collection and use of personal information

Be assured that this website does not collect any personal data, apart from information that you volunteer (for example, when filling a form) and your IP address. Any information you provide in this way is used only for the purpose for which you provide it. The purpose is communicated clearly on any forms, for example, currently these purposes can include

  • Sending a Prayer Request (which can be anonymous)
  • Contacting the Poor Clare Sisters
  • Contacting us about vocation

When you proceed to fill out any enquiry or contact form in the charity's website, you will be reminded to refer to this policy.

Website Security

This website is hosted in a Data Centre in the Republic of Ireland, and website hosting services supplied to The Charity are provided by a trusted partner, with comprehensive GDPR policies and procedures in place.

Please note the website uses a Dedicated Server, to deliver this website. Only appropriately skilled website development staff have access to the server to control the configuration and resource of the charity's website. The website uses an “SSL Certificate” meaning that any data visitors provide is encrypted.

Despite these features, you should be aware that unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our very best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once your information has been transmitted, please be assured that we use the strict procedures and security features above to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Disclosure

The Charity enables users to view and digest information in a safe and secure manner.

Right of Access

Under section 4 of the Acts a person has a right to be given a copy of his/her personal data. This subject access request (SAR) must be in writing through to the Data Controller. Your request should be as specific as possible. To enable us to issue the Data, it will be necessary for you to include evidence of your own identity such as a photocopy of your passport or photocopy of your driving license. A response to your access request will be issued to you as soon as is possible and in any event within fourteen days.

Right of rectification

Under section 6 of the Data Protection Acts, a person has a right to have his/her personal data corrected, if inaccurate, or erased, if there is not a legitimate reason for retaining the data. The Charity makes every effort to ensure that your personal data is accurate and only retained for as long as it is required. If you have reason to believe that your personal data held by the Charity is not accurate or should no longer be retained, you can write to us on the issue setting out clearly what personal data is at issue and the reasons why you consider it to be inaccurate and/or why The Charity should no longer retain it.

Concerns over Data Protection

If you believe that an individual or third party has accessed your personal information illegally and/or that your personal data may have been disclosed to a third party illegally by the Charity you can make a formal written complaint to:

Mother Abbess
Poor Clare Monastery
College Road, Cork
T12 WK6V

Please specify the exact data and include as much evidence that has led you to believe that your personal information has been accessed illegally through a disclosure by The Charity. The matter will be investigated by The Charity and you will be notified regarding the outcome of the investigation as soon as possible.

See our Complaints Policy

Where can I get more information about my rights under the Data Protection Acts

The Government legislation website explains the rights and responsibilities under the Data Protection Acts (https://dbei.gov.ie/en/Data-Protection)

Cookies

See our Cookies Policy

What information we collect

The website collects the following information none of which can be traced back to any personal identifiable individuals.

  • IP addresses for the purposes of website functionality, security and safety.

Links

This website may contain links to other websites. The Charity is not responsible for the content of these sites or for the privacy statements of other websites. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Notification of Change

The Charity reserves the right to amend this statement at any future date and will post any substantive changes here. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy

This privacy policy together with our terms and conditions, constitute the entire agreement between you and us in relation to your use of our website, and supersede all previous agreements in respect of your use of this website.

Glossary of technical terms used

1 Web Browser
A web browser is the piece of software you use to read web pages. Examples are Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Opera.

2 IP Address
The moment a computer connects to the Internet an IP address is created that can help your internet service provider identify the user. For most users the IP address will change regularly and no personally identifiable information is accessible to the Charity. Occasionally an IP address can provide useful general information such as the country of origin – this can aid us in managing attempts to breach the security of our website.

3 Dedicated Server
A Dedicated Server is dedicated to one Organisation so that only their customer websites or email accounts exist on that server.

4 SSL Certificate
The Charity's website uses an SSL Certificate. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. An SSL Certificate creates a secure connection between visitors and the website. The specific details a visitor completes via an enquiry form is encrypted and kept secure from hackers.

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to the Mother Abbess, Poor Clare Monastery, College Road, Cork T12 WK6V