Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 10 April 2026

1. Who We Are

Waterford Public Participation Network (PPN) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and ensuring your personal data is handled in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact us using the details above.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process the following types of personal data:

a) Group Registration Information

When groups register with Waterford PPN, we may collect:

  • Group name
  • Group location
  • Group description
  • Contact details for group representatives
  • Group constitution documents

b) Participation and Engagement Records

We may collect and retain information relating to your engagement with Waterford PPN, including:

  • Events you attend
  • Information submitted through surveys
  • Nominations or votes you participate in
  • Participation in the Waterford Community & Voluntary Awards
  • Expressions of Interest submissions
  • Administrative updates to your group (e.g. changes in contacts or structure)

c) Contact Form Submissions

When you contact us via our website, we may collect:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Any information you include in your message

d) Communications

We use contact details provided by registered groups to:

  • Send newsletters
  • Share updates, funding opportunities, and relevant information

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to:

  • Register and maintain records of community groups
  • Manage participation in PPN activities and events
  • Communicate with member groups
  • Share newsletters and updates
  • Respond to enquiries submitted via the website
  • Support participation in local decision-making processes

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases:

  • Consent – for example, when you submit a form or provide information voluntarily
  • Legitimate Interests – for administering the PPN, communicating with member groups, and supporting community engagement

5. Data Storage and Sharing

We do not sell or trade your personal data.

Salesforce CRM

We store your data on Salesforce, a third-party Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that complies with GDPR.

  • All Public Participation Networks (PPNs) use Salesforce in accordance with direction from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (Circular Letter CVSP 1/2018)
  • When you complete a PPN registration form on our website, your data is submitted directly to Salesforce
  • Applications received by post or email are securely recorded and manually entered into Salesforce
  • We take all reasonable measures to ensure that data held within Salesforce remains secure

Third-Party Event Services

We may use third-party online platforms to manage event registrations.

Where we do so:

  • We ensure that providers are GDPR compliant
  • We take reasonable steps to ensure your data is handled securely

All third-party providers are required to process your data in accordance with data protection law.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected.

As part of maintaining accurate and effective community records:

  • Membership and engagement data may be retained in line with PPN operational needs, including electoral cycles (typically up to 5 years)
  • Data is periodically reviewed to ensure it remains relevant and up to date

You may request deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us at waterfordppn@gmail.com.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Request deletion of your personal data
  • Object to or restrict processing
  • Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at:
waterfordppn@gmail.com

8. Cookies and Analytics

We do not currently use cookies for tracking or analytics purposes.

We do not use tools such as Google Analytics, and no profiling or tracking technologies are in place at this time.

9. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

10. Data Protection Contact

The Waterford PPN Coordinator, Muriel Tobin, is responsible for data protection matters.

For all enquiries regarding how your data is processed, please contact:
waterfordppn@gmail.com

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page, and where appropriate, notified to you.