Privacy Policy

The purpose of this Privacy Statement is to outline how we deal with any personal data you provide to us while visiting this website (the “Site”) and to also outline how we process any other personal data that we might receive.

By visiting this Site, you are accepting the terms of this Privacy Statement.  If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Statement you should not use this Site.

The privacy notice below explains what information we gather about you, what we use that information for and to whom we give the information. It also sets out your rights and who you can contact for more information or queries.

We may collect or obtain information about you that you provide to us, that we obtain from third parties or that is publically available. This information about you may include your name, age, gender, date of birth and contact information. It may also include so called ‘sensitive’ or ‘special categories’ of personal data, such as dietary requirements or mobility information.

We collect and process information about you and/or your business to enable us to provide our services to you, to enable us to provide you with information that we think may be of interest to you and in order to meet our legal or regulatory obligations

Types of Information Collected

We retain two types of information:

“Personal Data”. This is data that identifies you or can be used to identify or contact you and may include your first name, surname, email address and telephone number.  Such information is only collected from you if you voluntarily submit it to us, for example, by using the Contact Us pages on the Site or by emailing us directly.

“Non-Personal Data”. Like most websites, we gather statistical and other analytical information collected on an aggregate basis of all visitors to our Site.  This Non-Personal Data comprises information that cannot be used to identify or contact you, such as demographic information regarding, for example, user IP addresses where they have been clipped or anonymised, browser types and other anonymous statistical data involving the use of our Site.

Purposes for which we hold your Information

Personal Data

We will process any Personal Data you provide to us for the following purposes:

• to respond to any comments you submit to us and to communicate with you in relation to our firm and its services;
• to contact you in relation to our professional services and any associated events or publications such as client updates, conferences or other legal updates (subject to any preferences you have expressed regarding such communications); and
• where engagement terms have been agreed, to provide you with the contracted services.We use the Non-Personal Data gathered from visitors to our Site in an aggregate form to:
• Non-Personal Data

• gain a better understanding of where our visitors come from and what technology is used to access the Site;
• learn more about the number of visitors to the Site, traffic patterns and visitor behaviours on our Site; and
• help us improve design and navigation of the Site and ensure content is relevant and useful to visitors.We may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file which is stored on your browser or the hard drive of your computer.  Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the website.  Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive.  They help us learn more about visitor patterns and behaviours on our Site and this is used to continually improve and develop our Site. Some of the cookies we use are essential for the Site to operate.If you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our Site.  Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon as you visit our Site.We will not disclose your Personal Data to third parties unless you have consented to this disclosure or unless the third party is required to fulfil a request you have made or contract that you have entered into.  Where appropriate, Personal Data may also be processed by our service providers in which case we will take steps to ensure that the processing complies with applicable data protection and confidentiality laws. We will also disclose your Personal Data if we believe in good faith that we are required to disclose it in order to comply with any applicable law, a summons, a search warrant, a court or regulatory order or other statutory or legal requirement.Security
• Your Personal Data is held on secure servers hosted by our contracted hosting provider and also in physical files.  The nature of the Internet is such that we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us via the Internet.  Hence no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  However, we will take all reasonable steps (including appropriate technical and organisational measures) to protect your Personal Data.
• We may provide Non-Personal Data to third parties, where such information is combined with similar information of other users of our Site.  For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of unique users who visit our Site, the demographic breakdown of our community users of our Site or the activities that visitors to our Site engage in while on our Site.  The third parties to whom we may provide this information may include web developers, server providers, providers of advertising services (including website tracking services), commercial partners, sponsors, licensees, researchers and other similar parties.
• Disclosure of Information to Third Parties
• We may  share personal data with trusted third parties to help us deliver professional services. We will ensure that such third parties are contractually bound to safeguard the data we entrust to them. We may contract with the following categories parties:
  • Providers of telecommunication systems,  IT system support, archiving services, document production services and cloud-based software services).
  • Our professional advisers, including lawyers and insurers.
  • A potential purchaser, transferee, merger partner or seller and their advisers in connection with an actual or potential transfer or merger of part or all of our business or assets, or any associated rights or interests, or to acquire a business or enter into a merger with it.
  • Parties that support us with anti-money laundering, client conflicts and independence checks.
• You may block cookies by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the settings of all or some cookies.  For more information on how to manage your cookies in your specific browser, visit www.aboutcookies.org.
• Cookies

We use a range of physical, electronic and managerial measures to ensure that we keep your personal data secure, accurate and up to date. These measures include:
1)education and training to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of our data protection obligations when processing   personal data;
2) administrative and technical controls to restrict access to personal data to a ‘need to know’ basis;
3) technological security measures, including fire walls, encryption and anti-virus software; and
4) physical security measures, such as CCTV monitoring and monitored alarms.

Links

From time to time our Site may contain links to and from other websites. Where our Site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only.  We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources. We welcome links to our website from appropriate third party sites but we would request that any content associated with such links is accurate and fairly portrayed.

Social Media

Any content we publish using social media channels is subject to separate terms and conditions governing the particular channel. Should you choose to communicate with us or to follow us on social media it is up to you to choose your preferred profile settings.

Your rights

You have a number of rights regarding access to and control of your Personal Data, including:

• Right of Access: You have the right to ascertain what type of Personal Data we hold about you and to a copy of this Personal Data.
• Right to Complain: You have the right to lodge a complaint regarding the processing of your Personal Data to the Data Protection Commission. You may also complain to us by sending an email to info@frielstafford.ie
• Right to Erasure: In certain circumstances you may request that we delete the Personal Data that we hold on you.
• Right to Object: Where we rely on our legitimate interests to process your Personal Data, you have a right to object to this use.  We will desist from processing your personal information unless we can demonstrate an overriding legitimate interest in the continued processing.
• Right to Portability: You may request us to provide you with certain Personal Data which you have given us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and you may request us to transmit your Personal Data directly to another data controller where this is technically feasible.
• Right to Rectification: You have the right to have any inaccurate Personal Data which we hold about you updated or corrected.
• Right to Restriction: You have the right to request that us stop using your Personal Data in certain circumstances including if you believe that the Personal Data we hold about you is inaccurate or that our use of your Personal Data is unlawful. If you validly exercise this right, we will store your Personal Data and will not carry out any other processing until the issue is resolved.You can exercise your rights in relation to your Personal Data by contacting info@frielstafford.ie. We may request that you provide proof of your identity for security reasons and in order to prevent the unauthorised disclosure or misuse of Personal Data.  We will only charge you for requests to access your Personal Data where they are unreasonable, unfounded or excessive.   If, after contacting us, you are still not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission.  Please see www.dataprotection.ie for further information.
• Please bear in mind that your rights in relation to your Personal Data are not absolute and that we must be cognisant of our legal and regulatory obligations and our duties.

Confidentiality Statement

Friel Stafford undertakes to treat as confidential any information provided by companies and by individuals subject to Friel Stafford´s obligations under law and Ethical Codes of Conduct.

WHAT OTHER INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT

Because we provide a wide range of services to our clients or other third parties, the way we use personal data in relation to such services also varies. We are required by law to set out in this privacy notice the legal grounds on which we rely in order to process your personal data.

We rely on one or more of the following lawful grounds:
1) you have explicitly agreed to us processing your information for a specific reason;
2) the processing is necessary to perform the agreement we have with you or to take steps to enter into an agreement with you;
3) the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation when we are acting as Insolvency Practitioners or where obligations such as keeping records for tax purposes or providing information to a public body or law enforcement agency; or
4) the processing is necessary for the purposes of a legitimate interest pursued by us, which might be:
(a) to provide our services to you or our clients and other third parties and ensure that our client engagements are well-managed;
(b) to prevent fraud;
(c) to protect our business interests;
(d) to ensure that complaints are investigated;
(e) to evaluate, develop or improve our services;  or
(f) to keep you or our clients informed about relevant products and services and provide you with information, unless you have indicated at any time that you do not wish us to do so.

We set out below a description of the main services that we provide and how we treat any personal data collected in connection with that service.

When we are seeking information from Directors of companies in Liquidation/Receivership or Examinership when we are acting as Liquidator/Receiver or Examiner 

The Liquidator/Receiver/Examiner will seek specific information from you so that he may carry out his statutory duties under the Companies Acts. He may use some of the Data that you provide him to prepare his 682 reports to ODCE in respect of liquidations, to submit reports to any appointed Committee of Inspection, to creditors, his appointore (if he is acting as a Receiver) and to the Court. He may also use the Data to complete other necessary statutory filings and to seek advice from his legal team. He is acting as the Data Controller in respect of Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

When we are Processing Employee claims for statutory entitlements in liquidations and receiverships 

The Liquidator/Receiver will seek specific information from you so that he may carry out his statutory duties under the Companies Acts. He will use your Data to make the relevant statutory claims to various Government agencies. He will also use your Data to fulfill any reporting obligations that he might have to make to the tax authorities, any appointed Committee of Inspection and creditors of the company. He is acting as the Data Controller in respect of Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations. You have the right to access and rectify the data which he holds.

When we contact Personal Creditors of Corporate Insolvencies when we are acting as Liquidator/Receiver or Examiner 

The Liquidator/Receiver/Examiner may requests specific information from you so that he may carry out his statutory duties under the Companies Acts. He may use some of the Data that you provide him to prepare his 682 reports  to ODCE/CRE in respect of liquidations. He may also use some of the Data that you provide him to progress any claim for Retention of Title that you might have, and to assess your entitlement to any dividend, should one become payable. He will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations. 

When we are seeking information from Personal creditors of Personal Debtors when we are acting as personal insolvency Practitioners 

When we are acting as Personal Insolvency Practitioners we may request specific information from you so that the PIP may carry out his statutory duties under the Personal Insolvency Acts. The Data that you provide him with may be shared with other creditors of the Debtor, the Insolvency Service of Ireland, the Courts Service of Ireland, the Money and Advice Budgeting Service, the Legal Aid Board, and his legal advisors. He may also use some of the Data that you provide him to progress any claim for Retention of Title that you might have, and to assess your entitlement to any dividend, should one become payable. He will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

When we acting as Fixed Asset Receivers to Personal Borrowers 

The Receiver will seek specific information from you so that he may carry out his duties as a Fixed Asset Receiver. He may use some of the Data that you provide him to collect rents, agree rates and management charges, and to agree tax liabilities. He will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

When we are seeking information from personal Tenants in our role as Liquidators/Receivers 

The Liquidator/Receiver will seek specific information from you so that he may carry out his statutory duties. He may use some of the Data that you provide him with to collect rents, agree tax liabilities, submit returns to the Residential Tenancies Board, submit reports to his Appointor /Credit Committee/Creditors and obtain advice from his valuers and legal advisors. He will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

Where we are acting as Personal Insolvency Practitioners to Debtors

The Personal Insolvency Practitioner will request specific information and documentation from you so that he may carry out his statutory duties under the Personal Insolvency Acts. He may use some of the Data that you provide him to complete your Prescribed Financial Statement and to prepare a PIA or DSA and for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis and legal and regulatory compliance. The Data that you provide him with may be shared with your creditors, the Insolvency Service of Ireland, the Courts Service of Ireland, the Money and Advice Budgeting Service, the Legal Aid Board, your own legal advisors and his legal advisors. He will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations. You have the right to access and rectify the data which he holds.

Where we are providing informal Advice on Personal Debts 

We will request specific information and documentation from you so that we may prepare settlement proposals for submission to your creditors and, if appropriate, to new funders who may re-finance your debts. We will also use the Data for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis and legal and regulatory compliance. The Data that you provide us with may be shared with your creditors, your own legal advisors and, if appropriate, to new funders. We will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that we collect. We will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after our engagement ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

When we are seeking information from spouses/debtors of insolvent debtors

If your Spouse/Partner has instructed one of our Personal Insolvency Practitioners to do a PIA/DSA., he will seek specific information from you or your spouse/partner so that he may carry out his statutory duties. As part of that process he will seek information on your joint monthly Reasonable living Expenses, your jointly owned assets and information on your own net monthly income. He will use that Data so that he may carry out his statutory duties under the Personal Insolvency Acts. He may use some of the Data that has been provided to him to complete your Spouse’s/Partner’s Prescribed Financial Statement and to prepare a PIA or DSA and for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis and legal and regulatory compliance. The Data that he has been provided with may be shared with your Spouse’s/Partner’s creditors, the Insolvency Service of Ireland, the Courts Service of Ireland, the Money and Advice Budgeting Service, the Legal Aid Board, your Spouse’s/Partner’s own legal advisors and his legal advisors. He will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that he collects. He will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after his appointment ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

Corporate Finance Assignments

We will request specific information and documentation from you so that we may prepare proposals for submission to your funders, business partners and potential investors. We will also use the Data for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis and legal and regulatory compliance. The Data that you provide us with may be shared with your funders, business partners and potential investors. We will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that we collect. We will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after our engagement ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

Forensic Accounting & Expert Witness

We will request specific information and documentation from you so that we may prepare Expert Reports. The scope of our Expert Reports will be set out in an Engagement letter. We will also use the Data for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis and legal and regulatory compliance. The Data that you provide us with may be shared with professional advisors such as accountants and solicitors. We will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that we collect. We will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after our engagement ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

Audit, Taxation & Accounting Services

We will request specific information and documentation from you so that we may prepare accounts and tax returns. We will also use the Data for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis and legal and regulatory compliance. The Data that you provide us with may be shared with the Revenue Commissioners. We will act as the Data Controller in respect of any Data that we collect. We will store the data requested for a period of 7 years after our engagement ceases. We believe a period of 7 years for storing data is reasonable given the Statute of Limitations.

Changes to this statement 

We may amend this Statement on occasion, in whole or part, at our sole discretion. Any changes will be effective immediately.  You should check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we make, as they will be binding on you.

If at any time we decide to use your Personal Data in a manner significantly different from that stated in this Statement, or as otherwise disclosed to you at the time it was collected, we will notify you by e-mail or by telephone to provide you with an opportunity to discuss the matter with us..

Friel Stafford
44 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
Telephone: +353 (1) 661 4066
Email: info@frielstafford.ie

Last updated: 28 November 2022