Information Compliance Office
About
All information retained by Mary Immaculate College is subject to the provisions of relevant legislation, principally; Freedom of Information Act 2014 and Data Protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018.
Both sets of legislation lay down rules for the collection, storage and management of information. These statutes also provide for the safeguarding of stored data as well as for access to information personal to individuals or which should be disclosed in the public interest (in accordance with certain exemptions).
This section sets out how MIC organises and administers information in compliance with statutory requirements such as the Freedom of Information Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
You will also find information on how to access your personal data or other records retained by the College.
For specific Freedom of Information and Data Protection queries, feel free to email FOI@mic.ul.ie and DataProtection@mic.ul.ie respectively, or contact the staff members below.
Staff
Data Protection
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The GDPR came into force on 25 May 2018, replacing the existing data protection framework under the EU Data Protection Directive.
Data Protection is the means by which the privacy rights of individuals are safeguarded in relation to the processing of their personal data. The Data Protection Acts and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) confer rights on individuals as well as placing responsibilities on those persons processing personal data.
Under the GDPR you have the right to be given a copy, clearly explained, of any of your personal data kept on computer or manual relevant filing systems simply by making a written request. If you wish to access your personal data held by MIC please complete the Subject Access Request (SAR) form here and the Information Compliance Office will be in touch in due course.
To help us answer your request please be as specific as possible about the information you wish to see, and give as much information as you can to help us find it. You are legally entitled to a decision regarding your request within 30 days of the College receiving your request. However every effort will be made by the College to deal with your request as soon as possible. You will be asked to provide proof of your identity.
See below for more specific information on filing a request.
To request certain information about you that MIC has on record, please complete the Subject Access Request form available here.
If you are unhappy with the decision you have the right to complain to the Data Protection Commissioner who will investigate the matter for you. The Commissioner has legal powers to ensure that your rights are upheld.
Further details on your rights under the Data Protection Acts are available at the Data Protection Commissioners website.
Address:
Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
3rd Floor, Block 6
Irish Life Centre
Lower Abbey Street
Dublin 1
T: + 353 1 8748544
F: + 353 1 8745405
E: info@dataprotection.ie
Subject Access Request Form
Freedom of Information
Regulations were signed into law on 22 October 2001 by the Minister for Finance providing for the extension of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1997 to Mary Immaculate College. Requests already received will be treated as valid from this date.
The FOI Act establishes three new statutory rights:
- A right for each person to access information held by public bodies
- A right for each person to have official information relating to him/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading
- A right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting her/himself.
These rights are supported by an internal review and an external appeal procedure (Office of the Information Commissioner). The following records come within the scope of the Act:
- All records held by the College which were created after the commencement date of the Act, i.e. 21 April 1998
- Personnel records of staff created since 21 April 1995 or earlier if it is being used adversely against a staff member
- All records relating to personal information held by the College irrespective of when created. Personal information is defined as information that would ordinarily be known only to the individual or their family or friends, or information given to the College on the understanding that it would be treated as confidential.
The purpose of the act is to ensure that publicly funded organisations are accountable to the general community. The following information is intended to advise you of preparations made by Mary Immaculate College for the implementation of this act which will not only affect academic and administrative areas within the College but also those who are under a contract for services to the College.
The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003 came in to force on 11 April 2003. This Act introduced a number of important amendments to the 1997 Act. A copy of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003 can be accessed here.
The Freedom of Information Act 2014, was signed by the President on Tuesday, 14 October 2014, and became effective on that day, subject to certain commencement dates for the specific provisions set out in section 1 of the Act. The FOI Act 2014 can be found here.
Please be aware that the transitional provisions in section 55 of the 2014 Act provide that any action commenced under the 1997 Act but not completed before the commencement of the 2014 Act shall continue to be performed and shall be completed as if the 1997 Act had not been repealed. This means that if an FOI request was made before 14 October 2014, any subsequent review application (up to and including appeals to the Courts) will have to be dealt with under the 1997 Act.
The Act will not impose changes in the College's objectives or functions. It will, however, mean:
- The processing of requests for access to information within strict time limits
- The publication of information about the College's functions, structure, the services it provides, the records it holds and of all procedures, practices and guidelines used in decision-making
- Some changes in the way in which records are created, maintained and used and the way in which decision-making processes and their outcomes are formulated and recorded
Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 requires FOI bodies to prepare and publish as much information as possible in an open and accessible manner on a routine basis outside of FOI, having regard to the principles of openness, transparency and accountability as set out in Sections 8(5) and 11(3) of the Act. This allows for the publication or giving of records outside of FOI provided that such publication or giving of access is not prohibited by law. The scheme commits FOI bodies to make information available as part of their normal business activities in accordance with this scheme.
Please find MIC's FOI Publication Scheme below. If the information you require cannot be found here, you may wish to conduct a search on the MIC website, or contact the Freedom of Information Office email: FOI@mic.ul.ie
The College will assist people with special needs in making a request under the Act.
Contacts
Elaine Mulqueen
Freedom of Information Officer/ Data Protection Officer
T: +353 61 204511
E: Elaine.Mulqueen@mic.ul.ie
The Freedom of Information Act 2014 requires Freedom of Information (FOI) bodies such as Mary Immaculate College to publish a disclosure log, which contains details of the types of requests received under FOI since January 2015 and the decisions made by the body in response to those requests. The link to this disclosure log can be found below:
Disclosures are listed in order of the date the request was received by MIC. Please note that, for privacy reasons, identifying information such as the name of the requester is not included in the disclosure log.
Records Management
In order to ensure compliant and efficient records management, the College operates a system for the controlled retention and disposal of all personal data and corporate records.
Under the Data Protection Act 2018, controllers of personal data must ensure that the personal data of individuals is only retained for as long as is necessary and for the purposes for which they were collected. Section 71 (7) (iv) of the Data Protection Act 2018 requires controllers of personal data to carry out periodic reviews of the need for the retention of that data. Retention periods are governed by a variety of factors, including but not limited to legislation, contract and best practice. Some records may be initially retained for a set period after which they may be either archived or destroyed. Records retention schedules provide a framework within which retention periods can be set and reviewed for individual classes of data.
The MIC Records Retention Schedule categorises the various record types held by the College for administrative purposes and specifies the retention periods and disposal instructions for all such records in line with legal obligations and best practice. This schedule will be reviewed periodically.
Policies & Procedures
Privacy
See below for specific information relating to privacy statements, policies and rights.
Any queries or concerns you may have about the processing of personal information on this website should be addressed to:
Elaine Mulqueen
Data Protection Officer
T: +353 61 204511
E: Elaine.Mulqueen@mic.ul.ie
The College fully respects your right to privacy and actively seeks to preserve the privacy rights of those who share information with the College. The College will not collect any personal information about you on this website without your permission, except as may be required or permitted by law. Any personal information which you volunteer to the College will be treated with the highest standards of security and confidentiality, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988, The Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 and the General Data Protection Regulation.
Any information which you provide in this way is not made available to any third parties, and is used by the College only in accordance with the purpose for which you provided the information and will only be retained for as long as required for the purpose. This is normally stated on the webpage where the information is requested and should be self-explanatory. However, if you have any specific queries about the purpose for which your information is to be used, you should contact our Data Protection Officer before submitting the information.
Pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation, you have certain rights to obtain a copy of the data held about you. Any such requests should be made in writing to the Data Protection Officer at the address set out below. For further details on your data privacy rights, please refer to www.dataprotection.ie.
This statement should not be construed as a contractual undertaking. The College reserves the right to review and amend this statement at any time without notice and you should therefore re-visit this webpage from time to time.
Queries and Concerns
Any queries or concerns you may have about the processing of personal information on this website should be addressed to:
Elaine Mulqueen
Freedom of Information Officer / Data Protection Officer
T: +353 61 204511
E: Elaine.Mulqueen@mic.ul.ie
© Copyright Mary Immaculate College
The information contained in these web pages is, to the best of our knowledge, true and accurate at the time of publication, and is solely for informational purposes.
Mary Immaculate College accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising as a result of use of or reliance on this information, whether authorised or not.
The College (in conjunction with the University of Limerick) reserves the right to suspend, alter or initiate programmes, exams and regulations at any time by giving such notice as may be determined by the College in relation to any such changes.
The information found on personal pages/staff profiles should not be considered official material from Mary Immaculate College and the College does not accept any responsibility for its accuracy or otherwise.
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