Legal Statement (Terms and Conditions)

The purpose of this statement is to outline the terms and conditions with regard to the usage of the Secure Messaging Service.

The contents of these terms and conditions will be published on The Secure Messaging Service website for every user to read and agree to prior to use of the Secure Messaging Service. The Terms and Conditions will endeavour to outline to individuals, in plain English, exactly what they are agreeing to.

These terms and conditions apply to the Secure Messaging Service, as well as all content and software associated with the service. Your use of the Secure Messaging Service will be subject to these terms and conditions. In order to begin using the Secure Messaging Service, you will be asked to agree to these terms and conditions.

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SECURE MESSAGING SERVICE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

The Secure Messaging Service provides you with direct access to letters, documents, and messages from Public Service Bodies in the Irish Government. The aim is to provide you with a single, safe and secure place to get all your Government letters and messages.

The Secure Messaging Service is available on an opt-in basis, allowing you to decide if you wish to avail of the service. Your access to the Secure Messaging Service will be secured and protected using MyGovID.

If you do not wish to avail of the Secure Messaging Service, that's no problem, Public Service Bodies will continue to communicate with you as they currently do.

The Secure Messaging Service is operated by the Department of Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.

Only you will have access to your own Secure Messaging Service account, and your access will be secured using MyGovID. More information on MyGovID is available here.

Once you have signed up and accepted these terms and conditions for the Secure Messaging Service, Public Service Bodies will, where possible, issue your personalized Government letters and messages directly to you, via the Secure Messaging Service.

Only Public Service Bodies will be permitted to send letters and messages to you, and each letter and message will be specific to you. There will be a no spam policy associated with the Secure Messaging Service.

You are in control of both the messages and senders; you can request a specific Public Service Body from sending you communications through the Secure Messaging Service at any time by contacting them directly.

You must:

• regularly check whether there are new messages in your Secure Messaging Service
• ensure that each Public Sector Body that sends you messages has your correct email address for the purpose of sending you notifications of new messages, and
• immediately inform the Secure Messaging Service support if you become aware of or suspect irregularities or abuse of your account.

You can terminate and delete your Secure Messaging Service account at any time through the account management section of the service. PSBs control how long secure messages sent to you remain available to you through their retention policies.

Termination will result in the deactivation and disablement of your account and prevent any access immediately. Following on from this, your user account will be completely deleted after 30 days. This will result in the deletion of all content stored in your Secure Messaging Service account.

The Secure Messaging Service reserves the right to suspend your account and delete any compromised messages stored in your Secure Messaging Service if your account is compromised or as a result of a court order requesting deletion of resulting message(s) as required. All such actions will be carried out on behalf off and under the strict instruction of the PSB responsible for sending those messages.

Your Secure Messaging Service account, including the messages contained within, is non-transferable and any rights to the Secure Messaging Service will be terminated upon a confirmation of death through a formal notification process. Your account will be immediately deactivated and disabled, resulting in the following:

• All access to the account will be blocked
• No new messages will be sent to your account; and
• No notifications will be sent to your contact details (email or mobile phone number).

The Secure Messaging Service further reserves the right to delete your account 3 years after the event.

Unless otherwise stated in law, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform cannot be held liable for loss, delays, non-delivery, and incorrect delivery of communications, loss of data, IT errors, virus, or force majeure situations. The Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation cannot be held liable for loss as a result of unauthorised or any usage in contravention of these terms and conditions and the privacy policy. For example: if you provide others with access to your Secure Messaging Service mailbox, or you have failed to inform the Secure Messaging Service of any irregularities or abuse, or suspicion of the same.

The terms and conditions outlined here, are subject to change, and any changes will be presented to users in a clear and direct manner on the Secure Messaging Service website. In the event of minor changes, users will be notified in advance of those changes taking place. However, in the event of major changes or restrictions, users may be required to accept the updated terms and conditions.

All material, excluding messages, in the Secure Messaging Service, such as names, logos, trademarks, graphics, text, icons, images, software etc., belong to the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and individual senders (Public Bodies). All are protected by the laws on trademark protection and copyright.

The messages you receive via the Secure Messaging Service will not be sent via alternative means, for example by a traditional physical postal service. By consenting to receiving messages from Public Service Bodies in digital form via the Secure Messaging Service, such messages so received have the same legal effect as if received in physical form, as per the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, unless otherwise stated in law. Messages are regarded as received by you when they are available in the Secure Messaging Service. It is important to note and carry out your responsibilities as outlined at the start of this document.

The Secure Messaging Service reserves the right to block your access for security reasons in the event of any suspicion of abuse. If your access is blocked, please contact us.