Privacy Policy

Who is responsible for your personal data?

For the purposes of the GDPR, the data controller is Lotus Care Limited, registered office: Suite 204, Birr Technology Park, St Brendans Park, Birr, Co. Offaly, R42 HX39.

Who can you contact?

For any question, request or complaint about this policy or your personal data, contact us at info@lotuscare.ie or 057 910 7107. [Lotus Care to confirm: a dedicated Data Protection contact, if one exists, should be added here in place of the general office line.]

The principles we apply

Personal data must be collected and used fairly, stored safely, and never disclosed unlawfully. We apply the following principles:

• Lawfulness — we collect personal data fairly, lawfully and transparently.
• Data minimisation — we limit collection to what is directly relevant and necessary.
• Purpose limitation — we collect data for specified, legitimate purposes and do not use it in incompatible ways.
• Accuracy — we keep personal data accurate and up to date.
• Security — we use technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access, disclosure, loss or alteration.
• Retention limitation — we keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected for.
• Safeguards for third parties — any sharing of data with third parties is carried out lawfully and with appropriate safeguards.
• Lawfulness of marketing and cookies — any promotional communication or use of cookies is carried out in line with applicable law.

What information do we collect?

Through this website, we collect only what you give us directly through our contact, referral and recruitment forms: your name, email address, phone number (optional), and the content of your message. We do not use tracking cookies on this website — we use Vercel Web Analytics, which does not use cookies or cross-site identifiers.

Separately from the website, as a HIQA-registered provider of residential and non-residential respite services, we also collect and process further personal data — which may include medical, educational and welfare information — about the children and adults we support (our “Service Owners”), as part of delivering that care. [Lotus Care to confirm the categories of data collected during referral, admission and ongoing care, and how this section should describe them.]

How do we use your information, and on what legal basis?

We process personal data for the purpose of providing residential and non-residential respite services to children and adults with additional needs, and to respond to enquiries, referrals and job applications made through this website.

Our legal basis for processing is: (i) our legitimate interest in operating and improving our services and this website; (ii) performance of a contract, where we are providing services to a Service Owner or their family; and (iii) in some cases, to protect the vital interests of the person concerned. Where we process special category data (such as health information) about a Service Owner, we rely on the legal basis of carrying out our obligations in the field of social protection and care law, and, in some cases, protecting vital interests.

Is my personal data secure?

We use appropriate technical, organisational and administrative measures to protect the personal data we hold from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction, consistent with current industry practice. Any third party that processes personal data on our behalf is required to apply equivalent safeguards.

How long do we keep your data?

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose it was collected for, including any legal, regulatory or reporting requirement. As a HIQA-registered and, for children’s services, Tusla-notified provider, specific retention periods for care and employment records are set by regulatory requirements. [Lotus Care to confirm exact retention periods for Service Owner records, employment records, and website enquiry data.]

Cookies and analytics

This website uses Vercel Web Analytics to understand overall site usage. It is cookieless and does not use cross-site identifiers or track individual visitors. We do not otherwise place tracking or advertising cookies on this website.

Who do we share your data with?

Depending on the purpose it was collected for, we may share personal data with:

• Our own authorised staff, on a need-to-know basis.
• Regulatory and statutory bodies, including HIQA and, for children’s services, Tusla, where required by law or regulation.
• Healthcare, education and other professionals directly involved in a Service Owner’s care, with appropriate authorisation.
• Legal or professional advisors, where necessary to protect our rights or comply with the law.

Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to: access the personal data we hold about you; request its correction if inaccurate; request its erasure in certain circumstances; object to processing based on our legitimate interest; withdraw consent at any time where we rely on it; and request that your data be transferred to another controller. We will respond to any request within one month. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission (www.dataprotection.ie).

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected on this page. You are responsible for reviewing it periodically.