Privacy Policy

General Statement/ Who we are

The Dairy Executives’ Association (DEA) is a registered Trade Union holding a current negotiating licence. We are located at 33 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. The DEA is the largest union representing professional staff across the Food & Drink industry in Ireland. We represent executive, professional, managerial, technological, and support function staff across all the top Irish co-operatives and public food companies.

Founded in 1899, the DEA promotes the interests of the above staff, seeks to improve their salaries and conditions of employment, and regulates relations between our members and their employers. In order to perform these functions, the DEA is required to collect and process members’ personal data in accordance with the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1982.

This Privacy Statement sets out how the DEA is committed to protecting and securing your personal data in accordance with Irish and EU data protection legislation, specifically the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU)2016/679) and Irish Data Protection Act 2018.

This Statement is designed to ensure you are aware of the information we process about you including your rights in relation to this.

You can contact us at this address by post or by email at contact@dairyexecutives.ie.

Collection and Use of Personal Data

The DEA fully respects your right to privacy and will only process your data where legally entitled to do so. Only personal data relevant to the performance of the union’s work is sought, collected, and processed. All information provided by members will be treated with strict security and confidentiality, fully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”), and any succeeding, amending, or replacing legislation.

Why We Process Your Data, the Lawful Basis for Processing Your Data, and Who We Share It With

1. For People Who View and Interact with Our Website:
   • We process data to respond to queries sent through our ‘Membership Application’ or ‘Contact’ forms.
   • The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interest in the administration and operation of our services, as well as in marketing and promoting our Trade Union’s activities.
   • You may browse our website without providing us with any personal data and this will not affect your ability to view our website.
   • If you do not provide us with your information for the purposes described above, we cannot send your our newsletter, respond to your queries sent through our contact us form, liaise with you on client matters or assess your suitability for a role within our firm.
   • This data is retained indefinitely.

2. For Our Members:

1. • We process data to provide professional services to our members, confirm identity, update membership contact details, conduct ballots and elections, participate in surveys and engage in individual and collective member casework.
   • We may share brief details with a member’s employer for payroll purposes to enable deduction-at-source facilities for DEA subscriptions. Alternatively, members can opt to pay their contributions via direct debit.
   • Member contact data will be processed in the ordinary course of the DEA’s activities, such as sending renewal notices by SMS or notices by email.

3. For Potential Members:

1. • We process data to market the services of our union and provide updates and newsletters to which individuals have subscribed.
   • We share information like names and email addresses with our newsletter service provider, who acts solely on our behalf and is not permitted to use this data for any other purpose.

All personal data used for statistical purposes is anonymized.

Your Rights Relating to Personal Data

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right to Access Data: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, along with other information about its processing.
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data or completion of incomplete information.
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of personal data (also known as the right to be forgotten).
• Right to Restriction or Objection: Request that we limit or cease processing your data for specific purposes.
• Right to Data Portability: Request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: If processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: Contact the Irish Data Protection Commission if you’re dissatisfied with our handling of your data.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@dairyexecutives.ie or by post at the address above.

Security of Your Personal Information

All reasonable steps are taken to ensure the security of all personal data. The DEA imposes strict procedures and security features to prevent unauthorized access to manual or digital data. Access to personal data is restricted to DEA Officers.

Cookies

The DEA website uses cookies to distinguish users, enhance the browsing experience, and improve the website. You can block or disable cookies using your browser settings if you do not wish to consent to their use.

Retention of Data

• Personal data is retained for as long as necessary to pursue the legitimate activities of the union and as outlined in the DEA Constitution and Rules.
• DEA staff personnel data is typically retained for the duration of employment plus an additional seven years.

Automated Decision-Making and Profiling

We do not use any personal data for automated decision-making or profiling.

Other Websites

The DEA website contains links to external websites outside our control. These are not covered by this Privacy Policy. Please review third-party privacy policies before submitting personal data to these websites.

Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in legislation, technology, or operations. Please review this page periodically for updates. The last update was made on January 15^th, 2025.

How to Contact Us

If you have any queries regarding this Privacy Policy or our use of personal data, please contact us:

Email: contact@dairyexecutives.ie
Post:
Data Protection Officer
Dairy Executives’ Association
33 Kildare Street
Dublin 2, D02 YD95

Cookie Policy

Introduction
Dairy Executives Association (“we,” “our,” “us”) uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, analyzse site traffic, and serve personalizsed content. This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are, how we use them, and your rights regarding their use.

What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help the website recognise your device and remember your preferences over time.

Types of Cookies We Use
We use the following categories of cookies:

1. Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential for the operation of our website. Without them, certain functionalities may not work.

– Example: Session cookies for logging in securely.

2. Performance/Analytics Cookies
These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously.

– Example: Google Analytics cookies to track user behavior.

3. Functional Cookies
These cookies enhance your browsing experience by remembering your preferences.

– Example: Language or region preferences.

4. Targeting/Advertising Cookies
These cookies are used to deliver relevant ads based on your browsing history.

– Example: Cookies used by third-party advertising partners like Google Ads.

How We Use Cookies
We use cookies to:
– Provide essential website functionality
– Understand how our website is used
– Customise your experience
– Deliver targeted advertising

Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies are placed by third-party services we use, such as analytics or advertising tools. These third-party providers may use cookies to collect information about your browsing habits. For more details, please review their privacy policies.

Managing Your Cookie Preferences
Upon visiting our website, you will see a cookie banner that allows you to:
– Accept all cookies
– Reject all non-essential cookies
– Customize your preferences by category

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may impact your browsing experience.

How to Withdraw Consent
You can update or withdraw your consent at any time by:
– Revisiting the cookie settings on our website
– Changing your browser’s cookie preferences

Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our operations. Please check this page periodically for updates.

Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy, please contact us here.

The GDPR Regulation (EU) 2016/679 became effective on the same day as Ireland’s referendum on the Eight Amendment of the Irish Constitution.  While most of the media attention centred on the referendum, the very significant changes introduced by the GDPR Reg passed into Irish law with limited public attention.

GDPR was the first significant European Union intervention into data protection and privacy since 1995 when Directive 95/46/EU was passed and introduced in Ireland through the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.  As GDPR is a Regulation, it has direct legal effect in Ireland and all other EU countries with any need for local legislation.  As the Internet, mobile communications, and Social Media all extended globally since 1995, GDPR had much catching up to do!

While GDPR introduces significant increases in sanctions, fines, etc., it also imposes increased obligations on employers in relation to transparency and record-keeping.  There are now much stricter rules around obtaining employee consent.

While GDPR impacts all aspects of our lives, some of the key provisions relating the employee in the workplace are:

• Stricter requirements for valid consent to data processing
• Enhanced rights for individuals
• Reduced time period for dealing with individual’s rights
• Obliging businesses to be clearer about how they use personal data
• Notification of data breaches within 72 hours of occurrence
• Right to Compensation for individuals
• Increased penalties for non-compliance

The Data Protection Commissioner has prepared an excellent document explaining the implications of GDPR for the individual – it can be accessed at:

https://www.dataprotection.ie/docimages/documents/The%20GDPR%20and%20You.pdf