The purpose of this document is to provide a concise policy statement regarding the Data Protection obligations of Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers. This includes obligations in dealing with personal data, in order to ensure that the organisation complies with the requirements of the relevant Irish legislation, namely the Irish Data Protection Act (1988), and the Irish Data Protection (Amendment) Act (2003) and GDPR regulations (2018).
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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 Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers in relation to its staff, service providers and clients in the course of its activities. Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers makes no distinction between the rights of Data Subjects who are employees, and those who are not. All are treated equally under this Policy.
The policy covers both personal and sensitive personal data held in relation to data subjects by Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers. The policy applies equally to personal data held in manual and automated form.
All Personal and Sensitive Personal Data will be treated with equal care by Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers. Both categories will be equally referred-to as Personal Data in this policy, unless specifically stated otherwise.
This policy should be read in conjunction with the associated Subject Access Request procedure, the Data Retention and Destruction Policy, the Data Retention Periods List and the Data Loss Notification procedure.
In the course of its daily organisational activities, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers acquires, processes and stores personal data in relation to:
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, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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 Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers, there is regular and active exchange of personal data between Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers and its Data Subjects. In addition, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers exchanges personal data with Data Processors on the Data Subjects’ behalf.
This is consistent with Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers’ 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 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
Any formal, written request by a Data Subject for a copy of their personal data (a Subject Access Request) will be referred, as soon as possible, to the Data Protection Officer, and will be processed as soon as possible.
It is intended that by complying with these guidelines, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers will adhere to best practice regarding the applicable Data Protection legislation.
In the course of its role as Data Controller, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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 following key principles are enshrined in the Irish legislation and are fundamental to the Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers’ Data Protection policy.
In its capacity as Data Controller, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers ensures that all data shall:
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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 Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers holds their data, and Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers will be able to clearly state that purpose or purposes.
Any use of the data by Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers will be compatible with the purposes for which the data was acquired.
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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 Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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.
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers will:
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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.
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers undertakes to destroy, erase or otherwise put this data beyond use.
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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.
As part of the day-to-day operation of the organisation, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers’ staff engage in active and regular exchanges of information with Data Subjects. Where a formal request is submitted by a Data Subject in relation to the data held by Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers, such a request gives rise to access rights in favour of the Data Subject.
There are specific time-lines within which Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers must respond to the Data Subject, depending on the nature and extent of the request. These are outlined in the attached Subject Access Request process document.
Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers’ staff will ensure that, where necessary, such requests are forwarded to the Data Protection Officer in a timely manner, and they are processed as quickly and efficiently as possible, but within not more than 40 days from receipt of the request.
As a Data Controller, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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 Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers’ data in a compliant manner will be viewed as a breach of contract, and will be pursued through the courts.
Failure of Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers’ staff to process Personal Data in compliance with this policy may result in disciplinary proceedings.
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, Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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 Hollystown Estate Agents Ltd T/A McPeake Auctioneers 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. |