Privacy Statement
General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous of Ireland
Who we are and what we do?
The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous of Ireland is a company limited by guarantee (Reg. No. 64287) and a charity registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority (RCN No. 200110010, CHY No. 6014).
The right to anonymity is a core principle of Alcoholics Anonymous. GSBAA fully respects your rights to privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information by strictly adhering to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This Privacy Notice explains when and how we collect, process and use your data and sets out our security practices. It is primarily directed to individuals who wish to contact us to seek information, to seek assistance with stopping drinking or our Twelve Steps, to locate meetings and to purchase literature from us.
What we collect
We collect personally identifiable information (PII) that you provide to us, which is information that identifies you as an individual. This PII may include your name, address, private and corporate email address, phone number, credit card or debit card details (where you are purchasing literature from us).
How we use your Personal Information and the Legal basis for doing so
Any personal information that you provide will be used only for the purpose of providing the services and supports that we offer. We are not affiliated with any other companies, bodies or entities of any kind and we will never share or disclose your personal data or information with any third parties.
As engagement with Alcoholics Anonymous is entirely voluntary we process personal information based on your consent.
We may use the information:
- to provide you with details of meetings
- to provide you with any information or literature that you may request or purchase from us
- to respond to your requests
- to improve our level of service
- to seek your views on our services
In addition, if you agree to engage in service in any way in the AA organisation e.g. at Group, Area, Intergroup, Conference, Board level or as a World Service Delegate we shall further process your personal information for those purposes having first sought your consent. This may entail entering your details in a secure internal data base and including your first name and the first initial of your surname (or any name that you provide to us) along with the general area in which you reside and a contact telephone number in our Directory of AA meetings in Ireland (in both paper and electronic form). We do this so that people seeking assistance with our Twelve Step programme may seek and obtain the assistance, support and information that they require. The above details may also be included in documentation such as minutes of service meetings arising from your participation in service.
Retention Period
Personal data that you provide in connection with a request for information, support or services is deleted on completion of your request.
In the case of members who engage in service, we will retain your personal data in our internal data base for not longer than two years after your period of service has been completed.
When notified, details published in a paper directory will be deleted when the next edition of the directory is being printed.
How we protect your PII
GSBAA will take all appropriate legal, organisational, and technical measures to protect your personal
information.
We may disclose your information to contracted companies who act as “data processors” on our behalf. Our data processors include external consultants, professional advisers such as lawyers, software and technical support providers and IT consultants. When GSBAA uses a third-party service provider, that provider will be carefully selected and will be contractually required to use appropriate measures to protect the confidentiality and security of personal information.
We never share your PII with any third parties. In accordance with our Traditions, we are also not associated with, or affiliated to, any other body, entity or organisation of any kind.
GSBAA never transfers your data to countries outside of the EEA (European Economic Area).
GSBAA takes its obligations very seriously and adopts the strongest line in relation to the misuse of personal data or information by any of its staff or members. Any breach of trust by an employee regarding the confidentiality of information is treated as serious misconduct under the Disciplinary Code and can lead to sanctions up to and including dismissal.
Your Rights
- Right of access – you have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you
- Right of rectification – you have the right to correct data that we hold about you that is inaccurate or incomplete
- Right to erasure – in certain circumstances, you can ask for the data we hold about you to be erased from our records
- Right to restriction of processing – where certain conditions apply you have a right to restrict the processing by us of your data
- Right of portability – subject to certain restrictions, you have the right to have the data we hold about you transferred to another organisation or to receive a copy of the information where we hold it in electronic form.
- Right to object – you have the right to object to certain types of processing. Please note that we do not engage in direct marketing of any kind and do not disclose or share your personal data with any third party. Any correspondence or literature that we send you will be requested directly by you.
Website usage information
We also automatically collect information about your computer browser type and operating system, websites you visited before and after visiting our websites, standard server log information, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. We aggregate this information to understand how our visitors use our website and mobile applications so that we can improve them and the services we offer. These analytics do not typically identify individual users.
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small data file that is transferred to your device (e.g. your phone or your computer) which collects information, including personal information about you. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of websites. For example, a cookie could allow our website to recognise your browser, while another could store your preferences and other information and let you navigate the website effectively.
Cookies can also help to ensure that adverts you see online are more relevant to you and your interests.
Types of cookies used on this website
Managing and disabling cookies
Any cookie that is not Strictly Necessary is not active by default and does not send information to the resource it is called from. Accepting all cookies, makes all cookies active. You can modify your cookie preferences for the website at any time by clicking on the ‘Cookie Settings’ button below.
Links to other websites
Our website may from time to time provide links to or embed third party websites. This Privacy Statement does not apply to those websites. Please ensure you check the legal and privacy statements posted on each website or mobile application your access before entering any PII.
Changes
We may occasionally update this Privacy Statement. If the changes we make are material, we may post a notice regarding the changes on our website. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Statement to stay informed about how we protect your PII.
Contact
If you wish to contact us on any issue regarding your data protection, including to exercise your data subject rights, the following are the contact details:
Post: General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous, Unit 2, Block C, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin 9, H09 H584.
Phone: 01 8420700
Email: DPO@alcoholicsanonymous.ie
Complaints
In the event that you wish to make a complaint about how your personal data is being processed by us
or how your complaint has been handled, you have the right to lodge a complaint directly with the
supervisory authority:
Data Protection Commission
Canal House
Station Road
Portarlington
Co. Laois, R32 AP23
Ireland
Phone +353 (0761) 104800
LoCall 1890 25 22 31
Fax +353 57 868 4757
Email info@dataprotection.ie