EU Homeless Count Data Protection Notice
1 Who we are
Focus Ireland is a registered charity that help people get and keep a home ending homelessness for good.
You can find out more information on who Focus Ireland is and what we do on our website – www.focusireland.ie.
2 About this Data Protection Notice
This notice covers our processing of data for the EU Homeless Count which is a two year research project, funded by the European Commission. The project is managed by a team of researchers at the University of KU Leuven in Belgium. Focus Ireland will lead the study for Cork and Dublin cities in Ireland.
The number of people who are homeless will be counted in 10 European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia) across 15 cities in 2024. In 2025, up to 20 countries will take part. The Irish cities of Cork and Dublin will be involved in both years. Using similar methods in the different European cities, the aim is to find a common way to define homelessness, to count the number of people experiencing homelessness and to describe some of their basic features like age, gender, nationality etc.
3 Our contact details
If you have any queries or concerns in relation to our processing of personal data or the contents of this Data Protection Notice, we would be happy to help. You can contact us by writing to, emailing, or phoning our head office:
Focus Ireland
9-12 High Street info@focusireland.ie
Christchurch
Dublin 8 +353 (0) 1 881 5900
D08 E1W0
Contact details for Data Protection Officer (DPO):
You can also contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) directly using the contact details below:
Data Protection Officer (DPO) dpo@focusireland.ie
9-12 High Street
Christchurch
Dublin 8 +353 (0) 1 881 5900
D08 E1W0
4 What data we process and why
Personal data is any information which identifies you or could identify you.
The below table summaries the type of data we process for different activities we do.
| Business Activity | What data we collect | Lawful Basis |
| Administrative Data | The following data has been collected from PASS
· PASS ID; · Date of Birth; · Gender; · Citizenship; · Country of Birth; · Reason For Presentation; · Household Composition; · Household Number; · Number of Adults Booked; · Accommodation Type; · Service Region; · Booking Status; · Booking Start Date; · Booking End Date; · Duration in Emergency Accommodation at 31st October. |
Section 42 and Section 54 of the Data Protection Act 2018 which allows for the processing of personal data for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes. |
| Surveys | Certain organisations will collect your data through surveys. This will include
· Month and year of Birth; · Gender; · Citizenship; · Length of time in Ireland · Residency status; · Country of Birth; · Reason For Presentation; · Household Composition; · How long homeless; · Reason for homelessness; Number of Children Booked |
Consent |
5 Profiling and Automated Decision Making
Your data will not be used in any automated decision making.
6 Data Sharing
Your data will be shared with the University KU Luven who are the project managers of the EU Homeless Count. This data will be used to compile the comparative report required by the EU Commission. Data will be shared using a secure file share system.
7 Data transfers outside of the EEA
We do not transfer customer data outside of the EEA.
8 How long we keep your data for
Only anonymised data will be retained by Focus Ireland for two years before being archived. It will be retained for a further 3 years in archive before being deleted.
9 Your rights
You have certain rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
| Right | Description | Reference |
| The right to be informed | You have a right to receive information from us in relation to how we process your data | Article 13 & 14 of the GDPR |
| The right to access information | You have a right to access a copy of your personal data that Focus Ireland processes | Article 15 of the GDPR |
| The right to rectification | You have the right to have any inaccurate data about you rectified. | Articles 16 & 19 of the GDPR |
| The right to erasure | You have the right to request erasure of your personal data where it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was obtained. | Articles 17 & 19 of the GDPR |
| The right of restriction | You have a limited right of restriction of processing of your personal data by a data controller. Where processing of your data is restricted, it can be stored by the data controller, but most other processing actions, such as deletion, will require your permission | Article 18 of the GDPR |
| The right to data portability | In some circumstances, you may be entitled to obtain your personal data from a data controller in a format that makes it easier to reuse your information in another context, and to transmit this data to another data controller of your choosing | Article 20 of the GDPR |
| The right to object to processing of personal data | You have the right to object to certain types of processing of your personal data where this processing is carried out in connection with tasks such as the legitimate interests of others.
You have a stronger right to object to processing of your personal data where the processing relates to direct marketing. |
Article 21 of the GDPR |
| The right not to be included in automated decision making, including profiling | You have the right to not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing. Processing is “automated” where it is carried out without human intervention and where it produces legal effects or significantly affects you. | Article 22 of the GDPR |
If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please make a request to the Data Protection Officer (DPO) using the contact details listed at the start of this Data Protection Statement.
9.1 Withdrawing and Amending your Consent
Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw the consent at any time before 30th November 2024, after which your data cannot be removed as the drafting of results will have begun.
You can also withdraw or amend your consent by emailing help@focusireland.ie or dpo@focusireland.ie or phoning 01 881 5900.
9.2 Right to Complain to the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC)
The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) is the supervisory authority or regulator for data protection in Ireland. You can make a complaint to the DPC if you feel your data protection rights have been infringed or you are not satisfied with how we process your personal data.
If you have any concerns over the processing of your data, you should first try to resolve the issue by contacting our Data Protection Officer.
If you wish to complain to the DPC, you can find their contact details on Homepage | Data Protection Commission.
10 Security of your Data
The security and protection of your personal data is very important to Focus Ireland. We take measures to protect all personal data we are trusted with.
We have measures to protect digital data on our IT systems and devices for example Laptops and PCs are encrypted. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in use. Mobile devices are password protected or have FaceID/TouchID activated. Access control in place to restrict access on a need-to-know basis. Firewalls, Antivirus protection, Endpoint protection and Back-ups in place.
All employees receive regular training in data protection, IT and cyber security. This is also part of our employee induction training for new employees.
11 Updates to this Notice
Any changes to this notice will be updated here. This notice was last updated October 2024.