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Who we are
The remit of the Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse (‘the Special Advocate’) covers Mother and Baby Institutions, County Home Institutions, Magdalene Laundries, Industrial and Reformatory Schools, and related institutions, and those adopted, boarded out or the subject of an illegal birth registration.
The role of the Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse is to promote the collective interests of survivors, as expressed by them, and to amplify their voices as a central, essential input to Government deliberations on matters which affect them.
Ms. Patricia Carey was appointed as Special Advocate by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth with effect from March 2024. The Special Advocate will act independently in carrying out the functions of this role.
The General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) applies to any organisation that collects and stores personal data (known as a ‘Controller’) and also any other organisation working on the instructions of the data controller (known as a ‘Processor’). Adherence to the legislation is required by employees, contractors, consultants, agents and third parties who have access to personal data either directly or indirectly. Organisations must be fully transparent about how they are using and safeguarding personal data, and to be able to demonstrate accountability for their data processing activities.
The Controller for the processing of personal data by the office of the Special Advocate is the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (‘the Department’).
The Department has appointed Pobal as a Processor. Pobal will provide ICT and support services, as well as general administrative support, to the Special Advocate.
We are committed to protecting the rights and privacy of individuals (known as ‘data subjects’) in accordance with both European Union and Irish data protection legislation. We place high importance on the correct, lawful and fair handling of all personal data, respecting the legal rights, privacy and trust of all individuals with whom we deal.
It is important that you know how your personal data may be processed. Please take time to read this notice carefully. If you have any questions about how we use your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer (details below).
What we do
The content of this Privacy Notice contains information specifically related to the personal data processing of the office of the Special Advocate. The Special Advocate will process your personal data to fulfil their role of representing the collective interests of survivors of Mother and Baby Institutions, County Home Institutions, Magdalen Laundries, Industrial and Reformatory Schools, and related institutions, and those adopted, boarded out or the subject of an illegal birth registration.
Where the Special Advocate processes certain information relating to you, such as your name, date of birth, email address, phone number, address (‘personal data’), the Department is responsible for the protection of such data as “data controller”. Data protection law requires us to provide you with the information contained in this privacy notice to outline what we do, or may do, with your personal data.
How to Contact the Special Advocate office
You can contact the Special Advocate’s office in the following ways:
By e-mail: info@specialadvocate.ie
By phone: 00 353 (0) 511 7660
By post: Special Advocate for Survivors, Holbrook House, Holles Street, Dublin 2, D02 EY84
Who we share your data with
As per above, the Department has appointed Pobal as a Processor. Pobal will provide ICT and support services, as well as general administrative support to the Special Advocate.
What personal data we handle
The Special Advocate processes the personal data that you provide when you make contact with her office.
The Special Advocate will collect the following personal data in order to fulfil their functions and communicate with survivors about their work:
- Names
- Addresses
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Opinions or details of personal experiences
We are also aware that in the course of communicating with survivors some Special Category data may be voluntarily shared with the Special Advocate by survivors, which as a result will also be processed. This may include personal data revealing a person’s:
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Religious beliefs
- Health information
- Sexual history or sexual orientation
The primary source of personal data processed by the Special Advocate will be from those who engage with the Special Advocate themselves. Possible other sources of personal data may be data which is provided in the context of a Freedom of Information Request, Subject Access Request, or Parliamentary Question.
What do we do with your data
The Special Advocate will process your personal data to fulfil their role of representing the collective interests of survivors of Mother and Baby Institutions, County Home Institutions, Magdalene Laundries, Industrial and Reformatory Schools, and related institutions, and those adopted, boarded out or the subject of an illegal birth registration. This may include:
- Providing you with information on their role if you have requested it
- To contact you, if required, in connection with your enquiry or to respond to correspondence from you
- When engaging in a consultation process
- In order to Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests, or Subject Access Requests
- To store data in accordance with the provisions of the National Archives Act 1986
We do not undertake any profiling or automated decision making within the meaning of those activities under data protection laws, and no automated processing of personal data is foreseen at the current time.
What is our lawful basis for processing your personal data
The lawful basis for the processing of personal data by the office of the Special Advocate is Art 6.1(e) GDPR, namely:
“Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.”
In addition, informed consent for all processing will be sought from the data subjects (explicit consent where processing special category personal data), and all processing will respect the GDPR principles of necessity, proportionality and data minimisation.
In seeking your consent, the Special Advocate will also make clear to you that at any time you are entitled to withdraw your consent to be contacted and you will not be contacted again. However, any data already collected will be stored for as long as is necessary in keeping with our obligations under the National Archives Act 1986.
Do we transfer your data to third countries?
Your personal data processed by the by the office of the Special Advocate will not be stored or processed outside the European Union or the European Economic Area.
In the unlikely event that we are required to transfer information about you to a country of organisation outside the EEA, steps will be taken to ensure that any transfer of information is carefully managed to protect your privacy rights in accordance with Data Protection law.
Personal data will only be transferred if appropriate safeguards are in place, and on the condition that enforceable data subject rights and effective legal remedies are available. Appropriate safeguards may include:
- Adequacy decision of the European Commission in accordance with Article 45 of the GDPR is in place;
- Legally binding and enforceable instruments between public authorities/bodies;
- Binding corporate rules;
- Standard data protection clauses adopted by a Supervisory Authority and approved or adopted by the EU Commission;
- Standard contractual clauses between controller/processor and recipient in the third country or international organisation.
How long do we keep your data?
Records created by the office of the Special Advocate will be retained in accordance with the National Archives Act 1986 and in line with the Department’s Record Retention and Disposal Policy and Procedure. Records may include personal data which has been processed by the Special Advocate in the course of their work.
In keeping with the provisions of the National Archives Act 1986, certain categories of record created by the office of the Special Advocate may be retained for 30 years and may subsequently be transferred to the National Archives.
Where is your data stored?
Personal data is stored electronically on the ICT systems of Pobal. These systems are fully protected by anti-virus and anti-malware software. All data processed within electronic systems will be stored securely in Ireland, with paper documents stored in designated secured offices of the Special Advocate.
How is your data kept secure?
The following measures are in place to ensure that any of your personal data we process is kept secure:
- Pobal are providing ICT and administrative support to the Special Advocate and have been appointed as a Data Processor. This relationship is governed by a contract and a Data Processing Agreement.
- Pobal has implemented technical and organisational measures which are appropriate to the nature of the data being shared with the Special Advocate. This includes encryption of personal data at rest and in transit along with procedures and tools to provide ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of the systems and services used.
- Access to personal data is restricted to the Special Advocate and their staff. Only staff required to have access in support of the role of the Special Advocate will be given access to the personal data and will be bound by confidentiality agreements.
- Access to personal data is restricted to those staff members who need the information to carry out their official duties, with access controls such as the requirement to have a unique login username and password, with usernames being linked to the minimum permissions necessary to allow the staff member to work in a secure environment and to only access the personal data that they need.
Your Rights on your data
You have the following rights, in certain circumstances and subject to certain restrictions, in relation to your Personal Data:
- Right to be informed: The right to be informed about the processing of your personal data;
- Right of access: The right to access your Personal Data;
- Right to rectification: The right to request the rectification of your Personal Data in certain circumstances;
- Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’): The right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’) will be restricted on the basis that the records processed by the Special Advocate are subject to archival obligations as set for the Department by the National Archives.
- Right to restriction of processing: The right to restrict the use of your Personal Data in certain circumstances;
- Right to object: The right to object to the processing of your Personal Data;
- Right to data portability: The right to receive your Personal Data, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to require us to transmit that data to another controller, in certain circumstances.
- Rights relating to automated decision-making, including profiling: You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, where such decisions would have a legal or significant effect concerning you. We will ensure that where systems or processes utilise automated decision-making or profiling, an appropriate right of review and appeal is available to you.
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, or if you are concerned about what we do with your personal data or require any additional information in respect of any of our data protection policies, you can contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) in any of the following ways:
| By email: | DPOContact@equality.gov.ie |
| By phone: | (01) 647 3000 |
| By post: | Data Protection Officer, The Department of Children, Disability and Equality, Block 1, Miesian Plaza 50 – 58 Baggot Street Dublin 2 D02 XW14 |
How to make a complaint
In addition to the rights highlighted above, you also have the right to lodge a complaint about how we handle your personal data to the competent supervisory authority, which in Ireland is the Data Protection Commission (DPC).
The DPC can be contacted as follows:
| By email: | info@dataprotection.ie | |
| By phone: | (01) 765 01 00 | 1800 437 737 |
| By post: | Data Protection Commission 21 Fitzwilliam Square South Dublin 2 D02 RD28 | Canal House Station Road Portarlington R32 AP23 Co. Laois |
Further information on data protection is available on the website of the Data Protection Commission (DPC) at https://www.dataprotection.ie/.
Changes to this Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice will be kept under review and is subject to change. Any changes will be reflected here.
Questions or Feedback
We hope you have a clearer understanding of how your personal data is processed by the Special Advocate office and on how you can exercise your rights.
If you have any questions or comments on this notice, please contact the Special Advocate or the Data Protection Officer using the contact details outlined above.