Privacy Notice

We are fully committed to keeping all personal data submitted to us safe and secure. All necessary technical measures have been put in place to ensure the safety and security of the systems which hold your data.

Being open and transparent in how we process your personal data is important to us and therefore we aim to keep you informed of the purpose(s) for which your personal data will be used and why, where it may be shared elsewhere and why, and how long your data may be held by the Department.

1. The Department of Transport

The Department has its Headquarters in Leeson Lane, Dublin D02 TR60. It has appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) for you to contact if you have any questions or concerns around the Department’s personal data policies or practices. The Department’s DPO contact details are as follows:

2. Data Protection Officer

Department of Transport

Leeson Lane

Dublin D02 TR60

00353 (1) 670 7444

dataprotection@transport.gov.ie

Please contact the DPO with any queries you may have in relation to this privacy notice for the Road Transporters Support Scheme.

Personal data processed by the Department will only be used for the specific purpose(s) as outlined when the data is collected, or in later communications, and will only be used in accordance with the Data Protection legislation in force.

When you provide personal data to us you have certain rights available to you in relation to that data. These rights are outlined below and can be exercised by contacting the Data Protection Officer, as detailed above, indicating which right you wish to exercise:

• The right to be informed
• The right of access
• The right to rectification
• The right to erasure
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to data portability
• The right to object
• Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

Finally, as a data subject, should you be unhappy with the provision of information in this Notice you can make a complaint to the Data Protection Commission, which is Ireland’s Supervisory Authority for data protection matters on Commission, which is Ireland’s Supervisory Authority for data protection matters.

Data Protection Commission

Address: Data Protection Commission, 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2, DO2 RD28, Ireland

Email: info@dataprotection.ie

Telephone: 01 7650100 / 1800 437 737

The following data is specific information in relation to the personal data processed for the purposes of the Road Transporters Support Scheme application:

The Department of Transport requires applicants to supply information for the purposes of administering and making payments under the Road Transporters Support Scheme; complying with any applicable laws, legal and regulatory obligations; and overseeing and reviewing the operation of the Scheme.

The Department will be involved in the day-to-day processing of applications and information, including personal data, for the Scheme. The Department will maintain governance and oversight of the Scheme, which may involve auditing activities and other related processes.

In processing the Road Transporters Support Scheme application, the Department may use existing data held on the National Vehicle and Driver File, and the Road Haulage Operator Licence IT system, that is required for the same purpose of processing, testing, assessment or verification or eligibility of the application. Data has been provided by the data subject and the use of this data is to avoid the requirement for the data subject to re-submit the data and also in the interest of administrative efficiency to facilitate the prompt processing of applications for payment.

Such data includes:

• Data provided by the data subject at the time of application for a Road Transport Operators Licence.
• Data contained on the National Driver and Vehicle File, which is governed by statutory provisions, including Section 60 of the Finance Act (No. 13 of 1993), as amended.

The legal basis for the Road Haulage Operator Licence, which is required in order to engage in the occupation of road haulage operator, is contained in Section 2 of the Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006, as amended, and Section 9 of the Road Transport Act 2011. Section 19(c) of the Road Transport Act 2011 provides that an application for an operator’s licence shall be in such form as the Minister determines. The Application Form for a Road Haulage Operator Licence is prescribed in the Road Transport (Operator’s Licence Application) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No 398 of 2018).

Access to National Driver and Vehicle File data is governed by statutory provisions, including: Section 60 of the Finance Act (No. 13 of 1993), as amended, and the National Vehicle and Driver File Access Regulations made thereunder, provides for access to the National Vehicle and Driver File data to those prescribed in Regulations by the Minister for Transport. These include:

• Government Departments/Bodies who used National Vehicle and Driver File data for internal purposes only.
• Government Departments/Bodies/Agencies who use the National Vehicle and Driver File data for business delivery purposes, assisting with investigations and assisting in the execution of a regulatory framework; and
• Other persons assisting with the provision of a commercial service which is considered in the general public interest.

National Vehicle and Driver File data is also provided to approved third parties under the following provisions:

• Road Traffic Act 1961, Section 22(4);
• Roads Act 1993, Section 64A(1);
• Road Traffic Act 2014, Section 5(1); and
• Section 8 of the Health Identifiers Act (S.I. No. 383/2015 - Health Identifiers Act 2014 (Delegation of Relevant Functions) Order 2015).

The Road Transporters Support Scheme is available for eligible licenced and own account hauliers in respect of certain heavy goods vehicles (over 3,500kg in laden weight) where the vehicle is used in the haulage business (the carriage of goods by road).

You are not obliged to participate in the Scheme but if you choose to make an application under the Scheme you will need to provide data, including personal data, to allow the Department to determine whether you are eligible to receive support.

You must provide explicit consent for the use of your data for the purpose of the Scheme as part of the application process. Failure to provide all the data required to facilitate the processing of your application, including personal data, will result in the Department being unable to process your application.

Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Article 6 (1) (a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)). This allows the Department to process your personal data for one or more specific purposes where you (the data subject) have given consent to the processing of your personal data.

The Department will use your personal data for the purpose of processing, testing, assessment, verification, or eligibility of the application.

The Scheme will operate under the Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2381 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid “the De Minimis Regulation”.

The Department is required to verify your entitlement to receive State Aid funding in line with Article 6(4) of the De Minimis Regulation. The Department may share your information with other Government Departments and/or Government Agencies, to ensure compliance with State Aid rules and/or national legislative requirements.

The Department is required to publish relevant information on each individual aid granted under the Scheme on the EU Commission’s De Minimis Register within 20 days from the moment of granting, by Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831. The following information will be published:

• the name of the beneficiary.
• the total amount of aid.
• the granting authority.
• the granting date.
• the aid instrument.
• the sector involved on the basis of the statistical classification of economic activities in the Union (‘NACE classification’).

The Department is the recipient of personal data processed under the Scheme. Your data may be shared within the Department, where deemed appropriate and necessary for the purposes of administering the Scheme. This may include confirming vehicle details such as gross vehicle weight, motor tax class vehicle bodytype, vehicle ownership details, and CVRT status against the information held on the National Vehicle and Driver File.

The following details will be shared with the National Shared Services Office who will make payments on behalf of the Department:

• Your name, address and contact details.
• Your tax registration number, tax registration type, and tax clearance access number.
• Your bank details including name of the financial institution, branch name, name of account, account number, bank sort code, BIC, and IBAN.

The Department will verify each applicant’s tax clearance status with the Revenue Commissioners to ensure compliance with the Scheme’s eligibility criteria and its terms and conditions. This will be confirmed electronically via the Revenue Commissioners' Electronic Tax Clearance (eTC) facility using the Tax Clearance Access Number you provide in your application.

The personal information you provide in this form is not transferred outside the EU/EEA.

The data collected during the RTSS application process will be held by the Department only as long as there is a business need to do so in line with the purpose(s) for which the personal data was collected, in fulfilment of the Department’s obligations under the National Archives Act 1986, and under Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831 (the De Minimis Regulation).

If your application is successful, details will be retained by the Department for 10 years following the final grant payment. It will then be destroyed subject to permission from the National Archives. Unsuccessful applications will be deleted with the consent of the National Archives after 2 years.

We expect that core records from the Scheme will be retained for 30 years from the date on which the last grant aid was awarded, and then transferred to National Archives. This will include details of the scope, eligibility criteria, terms and conditions, of the Scheme. They will not include personal data.

The personal data provided for this purpose is being requested to verify your eligibility for the Road Transporters Support Scheme. If the information requested in this form is not provided, your application will not go any further in the process.

Automated decision making is not part of the processing of the personal data included in your application. However, we will use automation to check your information against the eligibility criteria for the Scheme. If this automation identifies any discrepancies in the information you have provided, it will be reviewed by a Department official who will make the ultimate decision on eligibility.

Technical information on the cookies used on our website is available on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/fdde77-data-protection/

*Please see the EU Commission website for further information - https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection/adequacy-decisions_en