Data Access Request

You have the right to see what personal information Galway County Council holds about you. This is known as a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR), and it’s part of your rights under Article 15 of the GDPR.

What You Can Access

• Confirmation of whether your personal data is being processed.
• Access to your personal data.
• Information about the purposes of processing.
• Categories of personal data.
• Recipients of your data.
• Storage period or criteria for determining it.
• Your rights to request rectification, erasure, or restriction of processing.
• Right to lodge a complaint.
• Source of your data (if not collected from you).
• Details of automated decision-making, including profiling.

How To Access Your Data

You don’t have to fill out a form to make a request, but using our Data Subject Access Request Form helps us process your request more quickly and accurately.

We may need to confirm your identity, this will be communicated with you seperately. Documents that we deem suitable include:

A copy of photo ID, such as your Irish Driving Licence, Public Services Card, or Passport
Proof of your current address, like a recent utility bill, bank statement, or official letter.

You can send your completed form by email to dpo@galwaycoco.ie or post them to:

Data Protection Officer
Áras an Chontae
Prospect Hill
Galway
H91 H6KX

How We Handle Your Request

We will respond to your request within one month of receiving it, as long as it is valid. If we need to confirm your identity, the one-month period will begin once your identity has been verified.

In some cases, such as when your request is complex or if you’ve made several requests, we may need more time. If that happens, we can extend the response time by up to two additional months. We will let you know within the first month if we need this extra time.

Charges

You can ask for a copy of your personal data for free.

However, if you make several requests about the same information, or if your request is very large or unreasonable, Galway County Council may charge a small fee to cover the cost of handling it.
 

When a Request Might Be Refused

In some cases, we may not be able to grant your request. This could happen if the request is clearly unreasonable or repeated too often.

There are also certain situations where your right to access information may be limited - for example, if releasing the data could affect national security, public safety, or an ongoing investigation.

Complaints

If you're not satisfied with our decision, you also have the right to make a complaint to the Data Protection Commission. You can find more information at www.dataprotection.ie.