Legal
Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Ciara Smith Consulting ("we", "us", "I") collects, uses and protects your personal data when you visit ciarasmithconsulting.com or contact us. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Irish Data Protection Acts.
1. Who we are (Data Controller)
Ciara Smith Consulting
Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland
Email: ciara@ciarasmithconsulting.com
2. The information we collect
- Information you provide: when you submit an enquiry or application form, we collect your first and last name, email address, company name, website, LinkedIn URL, details about your business and marketing/sales situation, your budget range, and your preferred contact method.
- Booking information: if you book a call, our scheduling provider collects your name, email and chosen time.
- Information collected automatically: when you use the site we may collect your IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, referring source and on-page behaviour, via cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookie Policy).
3. How we use your information
- To respond to your enquiry and provide the services you request.
- To manage our client relationship and send relevant follow-up communications.
- To understand how the website is used and improve its content and performance.
- To send marketing communications where you have consented, and to measure advertising where applicable.
- To meet our legal and accounting obligations.
4. Legal bases for processing
- Consent — for analytics/marketing cookies and marketing emails. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legitimate interests — to respond to enquiries and run our business, where this is not overridden by your rights.
- Contract — to deliver services you have engaged us for.
- Legal obligation — where we must retain records by law.
5. Sharing your information
We do not sell your data. We share it only with trusted service providers who process it on our behalf, including:
- HubSpot — customer relationship management (CRM) and email.
- Netlify — website hosting and form handling.
- Google — Analytics, Tag Manager and (where used) Ads.
- Microsoft Clarity — website usage analytics.
- Calendly / Cal.com — call scheduling.
- Meta — advertising/retargeting, only if enabled.
Some of these providers may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where they do, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.
6. How long we keep your data
We keep enquiry and client data only as long as necessary for the purposes above — typically up to 24 months after our last contact for enquiries, and longer where required for legal or accounting reasons. You can ask us to delete your data sooner (see your rights below).
7. Your rights
Under GDPR you have the right to: access your data; correct inaccurate data; request erasure; restrict or object to processing; data portability; and withdraw consent at any time. To exercise any of these, email ciara@ciarasmithconsulting.com.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Irish supervisory authority: the Data Protection Commission, 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2, D02 RD28 — www.dataprotection.ie.
8. Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies as described in our Cookie Policy. You can manage your preferences through our cookie banner and your browser settings.
9. Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (HTTPS) and reputable, security-certified service providers. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, however.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "last updated" date above shows when it was last revised.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy or your data? Email ciara@ciarasmithconsulting.com.
This policy is provided as a general template and should be reviewed by a qualified professional to ensure it fits your specific circumstances and obligations.