Data Protection Policy

Data Protection Policy

Our commitment to you

Mercy Hospital Foundation is committed to protecting your privacy. We collect, store and use some of your personal information so we can help patients at The Mercy University Hospital through our fundraising activities. We are bound by the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.

What information is collected?

The kind of personal information we collect to store will depend on the type of Mercy Hospital Foundation initiatives you support or enquire about. Personal information collected by Mercy Hospital Foundation may include:

  • Your contact information : name, address, email address, phone number, mobile number
  • Your employer details, if you participate in work place giving
  • Your Mercy Hospital Foundation supporter number
  • Your bank account details if you are a direct debit donor
  • A history of your donations, correspondences and other interactions with Mercy Hospital Foundation

If you choose not to provide us with certain personal information, we may not be able to process your donation or provide information on other campaigns or services you request.

How we collect information

There are a number of ways we collect information from you. These include:

  • Directly from you when you provide information by phone, in person, via our website or email or through response forms
  • From third parties who organise fundraising activities on our behalf
  • From a third party known to you who makes a donation and gives it to you or nominates you as the recipient of communication regarding that donation
  • From our own records of how much you have donated or your level of interaction with our services
  • From publicly available sources of information

How information is used

Your personal information may be used to:

  • Process your donation or purchase and provide receipts
  • Provide you with information on how your donation is used
  • Confirm your identity when you make enquiries about your donation
  • Communicate with you about the work that Mercy Hospital Foundation is undertaking
  • Address any feedback or complaints you may have
  • Answer your queries
  • Develop, improve and market our range of causes, events, products and services, which we believe may be of interest to you.

If you do not want Mercy Hospital Foundation to communicate with you about activities other than the one you engaged in, please call 021-4274076.

When we disclose personal information

In order to communicate with you in relation to the activities of Mercy Hospital Foundation, we may disclose your personal information to external organisations working on our behalf. The functions of such external organisations include:

  • Mailing operations
  • Email services
  • Information technology services
  • Telecommunication services
  • Marketing analysis services
  • Market research
  • Website usage analysis
  • Call centre operations
  • Payment of donations or products and services

We take reasonable steps to ensure these external organisations are contractually bound to privacy and confidentiality obligations in relation to your personal information and that it is only used for the specific purpose for which we supply it.

Whom we may disclose your information to:

  • Fraud checking organisations
  • An authorised legal representative nominated by you
  • Our accountants, auditors and lawyers
  • Law enforcement, government or other organisations, as required by law.

How long do we keep your information?

We will keep and use your information after you have provided a donation, purchased a product or service or interacted in some other way with Mercy Hospital Foundation. How long we hold and use the information after you have ceased donating or interacting with us will depend on the type of interaction you had with Mercy Hospital Foundation and any requirements under law.

Privacy and the Internet

Cookies

Like most websites mercyhospitalfoundation.ie uses cookies. These do not harm your computer and simply allow us to deliver a personalised, responsive service as well as to improve the site by storing information about you and how you use the site. This is done by using text files called cookies which sit on your computer. You can find out more about cookies on websites like this one www.allaboutcookies.org. The cookies we use are safe and secure and will never contain any sensitive information like your payment details.

What information is tracked by cookies?

Mercy Hospital Foundation collects statistics on visitor traffic to our website. To do this we use Google Analytics a trusted online analytical tool. All such statistics are anonymous and do not identify visitors in any way. By analysing how you and others use our site we can improve it, add more content that you like and create a better online experience for you.

When you make a donation your personal information is stored temporarily. This allows us to process your actual donation, to receive your contact details to save your donation and send you information such as your sponsorship documents.

No payment details (credit / debit card) are affected by mercyhospitalfoundation.ie cookies. In fact, these details are securely collected by www.realexpayments.com/ie. Realex receive your personal details (name, address etc) to match with your payment details and process your donations. All forms collecting your personal data are further secured through SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption.

How long is your data held online?

Once your session on the internet has ended, your information collected using cookies will no longer be held. Your details are securely transferred to our office after you have confirmed these, where we handle it as described on the first pages of this document.

How to stop cookies / tracking

If you want to restrict, block or delete cookies from mercyhospitalfoundation.ie, or any other website, you can do this in your Internet browser. Each browser is different, so check the ‘Help’ menu to learn how to change your cookie preferences.

Please note that your online experience on mercyhospitalfoundation.ie will be compromised and donations won’t be processed if you disable or restrict cookies in your browser settings. However, you can of course our Donor Care Team on 021 4274076 to make a donation or register for an event.

Protecting information provided via the Internet

Our site uses security encrypted response forms when personal details are requested. The security we use between your browser and our web site is SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption. You see this becoming active when the browser changes from http to https.

Links with other sites

Mercy Hospital Foundation’s website contains links to other sites. Other sites may also have links to our website. In either case, we are not responsible for the content, privacy practices or business practices of any website or company except our own.

Giving you control

If you want to change any information that you have previously given us, or if you want to opt out of future communications, you can either:

  • Email a request to info@mercyhospitalfoundation.ie
  • Call our Donor Care Team on 021 4274076
  • Post a request to: Donor Care, Mercy Hospital Foundation, 4 Washington Street West, Cork. When contacting us to change your details, please include the following information:
    Contact details (name, postal address, telephone number)
    Mercy Hospital Foundation supporter number (if you have one)

Right of access

You have a right of access to the personal information that Mercy Hospital Foundation holds about you. Requests for right of access should be addressed to our Donor Care Team.

Changes to this privacy statement

We may make changes to this policy from time to time without notice. Any changes will be reflected on this page.

Contacting us about privacy

If you have any questions or comments about this privacy statement or if you have a complaint about a breach of your privacy, you can contact our Donor Care Team by either:

Sending an email to info@mercyhospitalfoundation.ie
Calling the Donor Care Team on 021 4274076
Posting a letter to: Donor Care, Mercy Hospital Foundation, 4 Washington Street West, Cork.