Privacy Statement - Public Consultation on the Draft Heritage Ireland 2030 Mid-Term Review 2026

The Department is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This privacy statement explains how the Department, as the Data Controller, will process the personal data provided to it in respect of the Public Consultation on the Draft Heritage Ireland 2030 Mid-term Review 2026; how that information will be used, and what rights you may exercise in relation to your personal data.

The Department processes the following personal data in respect of the Public Consultation submissions on the Draft Heritage Ireland 2030 Mid-Term Review 2026:

• Name,
• Contact email address;
• Position in heritage stakeholder organisation.

The Department is carrying out a review of Heritage Ireland 2030, the national heritage strategy. The review is being carried out as a commitment in the strategy to review it after three years. It aims to ensure that the Heritage Ireland 2030 is still relevant and that its structures continue to strengthen and protect heritage over its lifetime and beyond.

The draft results of the review have been set out in the Heritage Ireland 2030 Mid-Term Review Public Consultation Draft 2026. The Department is seeking submissions from the public on the draft mid-term review document, which includes a draft revised Heritage Ireland 2030 Action Plan. The public consultation on the draft document is the final stage of the Heritage Ireland 2030 review process.

Feedback will be sought through an online survey form hosted on the European Commission’s EU Survey platform. A link to the Survey will be published online.

Feedback will be recorded, collated, analysed, and evaluated to inform the final version of the Heritage Ireland 2030 Mid-Term Review. It is expected that the final mid-term review document will be published in Q3 or early Q4 2026.

Please note that submissions received may be made available on the Department’s website, unless otherwise requested.

The information provided may be used internally for audit or other compliance purposes where the Department has a lawful basis for such processing.

The Department will not use any personal data collected from you in respect of gathering public consultation submissions on the Heritage Ireland 2030 Mid-Term Review Public Consultation Draft 2026 for automated decision making, or for profiling purposes.

This processing of your personal data is lawful under Article 6 (1)(e) of the GDPR, which provides that processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller (Section 168 of the Historic and Archaeological Heritage Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023).

The Department implements appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access. However, despite these efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. In the event that your personal data is compromised as a result of a breach of security, the Department’s Breach Management policy and procedures will be implemented.

Personal data may be shared internally for audit or other compliance purposes.

Personal data may be shared with other Government Departments, local authorities, agencies under the aegis of the Department, or other public bodies, in certain circumstances where this is provided for by law. All submissions may be published in future with personal information redacted.

The Department will not transfer personal data collected in respect of the Targeted Stakeholder Consultation as part of the Heritage Ireland 2030 Review to any country or international organisation outside the EU/EEA.

The Department will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and processed. In this instance, the data retention period for your personal data is in line with the legislative and business unit requirements and the National Archives Act 1986 (as amended).

The Department's Data Protection Policy, which sets out how we will use your personal data, as well as providing information regarding your rights as a data subject (including details regarding right of access, right to rectification, right to erasure, right to restriction of processing, right to object), is available on our website. The policy is also available in hard copy upon request. If you consider that your rights have been infringed, you have the right to complain to the Irish Data Protection Commission (www.dataprotection.ie), and you have the right to seek a judicial remedy.

The Department is the Data Controller when processing your personal data for the purposes outlined above. The Department’s contact details are available at:

Contact the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department has appointed a Data Protection Officer to support its compliance with data protection law. The contact details for the Department’s Data Protection Officer are:

• Data Protection Officer
• Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
• Newtown Road
• Wexford
• Email: data.protection@housing.gov.ie