This Privacy and Cookies Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) refers to the family of websites, operated by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) situated at 3 Montague Street,
Dublin 2, D02 V327. This Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.

Please read the following carefully. Entering into this website or sister websites operated by the NYCI indicates that the user (either “user” or “you”) has reviewed this Privacy Policy and has agreed to be bound by it. If you do not agree to these terms you must leave the websites immediately.

What information do we collect?
We fully respect your right to privacy in relation to your interactions with the websites and endeavour to guarantee to be transparent in our dealings with you as to what information we will collect and how we will use your information. Also, we only collect and use individual user details where we have legitimate business reasons, and where we are legally entitled to do so. Information in relation to personal data collected by Irish entities is available on www.dataprotection.ie, the website of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner.

How do we collect information from you?

  • IP Addresses

We collect IP addresses from visitors to our websites (an IP address is a number that can uniquely identify a specific computer or other network device on the internet). This allows us to identify the location of users, to block disruptive use and to establish the number of visits from different countries. We analyse this data for trend and statistics reasons, such as which parts of our websites users are visiting and how long they spend there.

  • Cookies

We collate information on all our websites’ traffic that is represented in aggregate format through cookies. We use third parties such as Google Analytics to collect user information, including through the use of cookies (flash and non-flash) and web beacons. They help us to improve our websites and to deliver many of the functions that make your browser experience more user friendly. You can find a list of cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them in the tables below.

First party cookies

Cookie Purpose Expires
cookie-agreed Used to determine if the user has accepted these websites’ Privacy Policy. 60 days
has_js Determines whether or not a user has JavaScript enabled. End of session

Third party cookies
You should also be aware that there are cookies which are found in other companies’ internet tools which we are using to enhance these websites. You will see ‘social buttons’ on our websites, which enable you to share or bookmark the web pages.

Cookie Name Expiration Time Description Provider
_ga 2 years Used to distinguish users. Google
_gid 24 hours Used to distinguish users. Google
_gat 1 minute Used to throttle request rate. Google
AMP_TOKEN 30 seconds to 1 year Contains a token that can be used to retrieve a Client ID from AMP Client ID service. Other possible values indicate opt-out, inflight request or an error retrieving a Client ID from AMP Client ID service. Google
_gac_<property-id> 90 days Contains campaign related information for the user. If you have linked your Google Analytics and AdWords accounts, AdWords website conversion tags will read this cookie unless you opt-out.Learn more. Google
personalization_id 2 years Used to personalise content Twitter
tfw_exp 14 days Used by Twitter to serve twitter ad content Twitter
external_referer 4 days Used by Twitter to identify referrer information Twitter
eu_cn 1 year Used by Twitter to identify if the user is located in an EU country Twitter
GPS End of session Youtube GPS location mobile devices YouTube
IDE 28 days Used to make adds more attractive. Delivered by Google/YouTube integration. DoubleClick
NID 6 months Google Maps cookie Google
PREF 8 months Youtube user preferences YouTube
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE 6 months Youtube user bandwidth estimation YouTube
YSC End of session Youtube unique user YouTube

By using the websites, you are agreeing to the use of cookies as described.

The help menu on the menu bar of most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and how to disable cookies altogether. You can also disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, such as flash cookies, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the website of its manufacturer. For more information about cookies and managing them, including how to turn them off, please visit www.cookiecentral.com. However, because cookies allow you to take advantage of some of our websites’ essential features, we recommend you leave them turned on.

Mailing Lists and Registration processes
If users wish to utilise certain services located on specific sections of the websites, they are requested to sign up. Services that currently require some form of sign up include:

  • Email newsletters from the websites
  • Registering with the websites for nominated services

To register as a user of such services we need to collect information such as, at a minimum, an email address. We may also ask some further questions so we can gain a clearer understanding of what you are interested in, in order to personalise the information that we give you.

You can update your personal information held and change your stated interests and whether or not you wish to receive correspondence from us. You may unsubscribe from the e-newsletter and other updates by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of all our email correspondence.  We may ask different questions for different services, including competitions. We may also ask you to complete surveys that we use for research purposes, although you do not have to respond to them.

Email Newsletter services are provided through MailChimp.com.  MailChimp are certified to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and the Swiss-U.S Privacy Shield Framework and are fully compliant with EU data protection legislation and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Mobile devices & Social Media
Applications developed in connection with the websites for mobile devices will operate and capture information as set out above. Applications developed by us but deployed on other platforms such as social media channels may provide feedback to us on activity and usage specific to a user.

Note: If you are aged 18 or under, please get your parent/guardian’s permission before you provide any personal information to us. Users without this consent are not allowed to provide us with personal information.

How do we use the information we collect?
We collect different types of information about our users for the following reasons:

  1. To personalise the way our content is presented to you and to ensure that content from our Websites are presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer or mobile device.
  2. To help us to monitor and improve the services we offer, including these websites. As part of this, we may use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individuals are identified).
  1. To carry out any legal obligations arising from your interaction with the websites.
  1. To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so.

Are there cases where we may use your information to contact you?
We may contact you:

  • For administration reasons related to the service to which you have signed up (e.g. to provide you with password reminders or to notify you that a particular service, activity or online content has been suspended for maintenance, or in response to a question that you ask us).
  • To provide you with information about our services, activities or online content. You should only receive e-newsletters or similar correspondence and updates from the National Youth Council of Ireland if you have agreed to in response to any contact you have made with us, e.g. on our Facebook page, or via the Contact Us facility.  It will be made clear to you where you have these choices, for example, by providing tick boxes for you to decide whether you wish to receive e-newsletters.
  • To invite you to participate in surveys about our services (participation is always voluntary).

Where we wish to use your personal information in any other way, we will ensure that we notify you first. You will also be given the opportunity to withhold or withdraw your consent for the use of your personal information for purposes other than those listed in this document.

Do we protect your personal information?
We do our utmost to protect user privacy through the appropriate use of the security technology: we ensure that we have appropriate physical and technological security measures to protect your information; and we ensure that when we outsource any processes that the service provider has appropriate security measures.

However, these Websites may contain hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third-party websites have their own privacy policies, including cookies. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third-party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.

Who do we share data with?
We may disclose your personal information to any company or other corporate entity under the control and direction of the National Youth Council of Ireland.

We reserve the right to access and disclose personal data to comply with applicable laws and lawful government requests, to operate our systems properly and to protect both ourselves and our users.

We may also use service providers to help us run the Websites or services available on the Websites. Any third parties who access your data in the course of providing services on our behalf are subject to strict contractual restrictions to ensure that your data is protected, in compliance with data protection legislation.

Where do we store your personal data?
The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (EEA). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our Website; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Changes to the Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time, so you may wish to check it each time you submit personal information to the Website. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. If you do not agree to these changes, please do not continue to use these Websites to submit personal information. If material changes are made to the Privacy Policy, we will notify you by placing a prominent notice on the Websites.

Consent
By accessing services offered by us, you consent to the collection and use of this information by us as outlined in this Privacy Policy. By providing any personal information to us, you fully understand and clearly consent to such use and transfers as set out in this Privacy Policy.

Legal information and how to contact us
The Data Controller for these Websites and services provided through these Websites is The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), 3 Montague Street,
Dublin 2, D02 V327, Ireland.

If you would like to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold on you, or have any queries regarding the Authority’s use of personal data please contact info@nyci.ie