Terms and Conditions

1. Who we are

This website and member platform is provided for New Ballagh Centre community services. References to "we", "us" and "our" mean the organisation operating the platform, its authorised staff, administrators and volunteers acting on its behalf. Copper Fox Digital may provide design, development, hosting support or technical maintenance services, but it is not responsible for member content, bookings, community posts, marketplace transactions, safeguarding decisions or operational decisions unless separately agreed in writing.

2. Acceptance of these terms

By using the website, creating an account, signing in, booking an event, registering for a course, completing staff training, posting content, using chat, using marketplace features or sending messages, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

If you use Google sign-in or another third-party login service, you also remain subject to that provider's own terms and privacy notices.

3. What the platform provides

The platform supports public information pages, news, blog posts, event listings, course listings, staff training, member accounts, booking records, attendance records, certificates, reminders, community chat, marketplace listings, marketplace messages and administration tools.

The platform is a community administration and communication tool. It is not a medical, legal, financial, emergency, crisis, safeguarding or professional advice service. If there is immediate danger or urgent welfare concern, contact emergency services or the appropriate statutory service.

4. Account responsibilities

You must provide accurate account information and keep your login details secure. You are responsible for activity carried out through your account unless caused by our failure to apply reasonable security measures.

You must not share your password, attempt to access another account, bypass access controls, scrape private data, upload malicious files, interfere with the service, impersonate another person, or use the platform for unlawful, harmful or abusive purposes.

We may suspend, restrict or remove an account if we reasonably believe it is being misused, creates security or safeguarding risk, breaches these terms, harms other users, or is required by law or operational necessity.

5. Bookings, courses and staff training

Event, course and training information is provided in good faith but may change. Dates, times, availability, capacity, eligibility, pricing, payment status, attendance records, module progress and certificate records may be corrected by authorised administrators.

A booking, course registration, training assignment or certificate shown in your account is an administrative record only. It does not guarantee access where an event is cancelled, capacity is reached, payment is outstanding, eligibility requirements are not met, attendance cannot safely proceed, or the record was created in error.

Staff training materials and Q&A checks are provided for internal learning and record-keeping. They do not replace formal professional advice, statutory training, regulated qualifications, legal duties or management supervision unless expressly stated by the organisation.

6. Community chat, comments and messages

You are responsible for content you post or send, including comments, chat posts, replies, marketplace listings, uploaded images and messages. Content must be lawful, respectful, accurate, relevant and suitable for a community platform.

You must not post or send abusive, discriminatory, harassing, threatening, defamatory, misleading, explicit, unsafe, illegal, infringing, spam, scam, malicious or exploitative content. You must not share private personal information about another person without a lawful basis and permission where required.

Community chat and marketplace messages are not guaranteed to be private from administrators. Authorised administrators and technical support providers may access, moderate, preserve, disclose or remove content where reasonably necessary for safety, legal compliance, safeguarding, dispute handling, security, maintenance or enforcement of these terms.

We do not undertake to monitor every message or post before it appears. Moderation tools, profanity filters and reporting routes reduce risk but cannot catch every harmful or unlawful item. Users should report concerns promptly.

7. Marketplace use

Marketplace listings and conversations are between users. We do not inspect, guarantee, own, buy, sell, deliver, insure, value or verify listed items, buyers, sellers, descriptions, payment arrangements or collection arrangements.

Users are responsible for checking items, arranging safe collection, protecting their own money and property, and complying with applicable law. We are not responsible for disputes, losses, damage, injury, non-payment, non-delivery, misrepresentation or unsafe meetings arising from user-to-user marketplace activity, except where liability cannot legally be excluded.

Do not send bank details, passwords, verification codes, identity documents or unnecessary personal information through marketplace messages. Meet in safe public places where possible and stop communication if something appears suspicious.

8. User content licence

When you submit content, you confirm that you have the right to do so. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, display, copy, moderate, remove, preserve and process that content as needed to operate, protect and evidence the platform.

You retain ownership of your own content. Deleting your account or content may not remove copies that are part of backups, moderation records, legal records, audit trails, public discussions, dispute records or records held by other users.

9. Privacy and personal data

We process personal data to operate accounts, bookings, courses, staff training, certificates, messages, community features, marketplace features, support, security and administration. Personal data may include name, email address, authentication identifiers, profile image, county, booking history, training progress, certificate status, payment/attendance status, comments, chat posts, marketplace listings, uploaded files and messages.

We use Google Firebase services for authentication, database storage, file storage and related platform functionality. Firebase and other providers may process data on infrastructure outside your country. We rely on contractual, technical and organisational measures provided by those services, but no online service can be guaranteed to be uninterrupted or immune from all risk.

Where we decide why and how personal data is processed, we are the data controller. Where Copper Fox Digital or another technical provider processes data only on our instructions, that provider acts as a processor or service provider. Data protection duties that cannot legally be excluded remain in force.

10. Data retention and deletion

We keep data only as long as reasonably needed for platform operation, legal obligations, safeguarding, financial records, audit, dispute handling, security, backups and legitimate administration. Some records may be retained even after account closure where necessary and lawful.

You may request access, correction or deletion of your personal data. Requests may be refused or limited where identity cannot be verified, another person's rights are affected, or retention is required for legal, safeguarding, dispute, security or operational reasons.

11. Data loss, backups and availability

The platform is provided using third-party technology and internet services. We aim to take reasonable steps to protect data and maintain service availability, but we do not guarantee that the platform will always be available, error-free, secure, backed up in real time, or free from data loss.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the site operator, its owners, administrators, staff, volunteers, contractors, Copper Fox Digital and technical providers are not liable for indirect loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity, loss of goodwill, loss of business, loss of data, loss of content, service interruption, corrupted uploads, failed messages, unavailable bookings, user error, third-party outage, cyberattack or unauthorised access, unless caused by liability that cannot legally be limited or excluded.

You should keep your own copies of important information, documents, images, messages, receipts and records. Do not use the platform as your only storage location for important data.

12. Security

We use authentication, Firestore security rules, Storage security rules, role-based admin checks and moderation tools to protect access to account data and admin functions. You must also take reasonable security steps, including using a secure email account, keeping passwords private, signing out on shared devices and reporting suspected account misuse promptly.

We cannot guarantee that content will remain confidential where you choose to share it in public areas, group chats, marketplace conversations or with other users.

13. Third-party services and links

The platform may rely on or link to third-party services including Google Firebase, Google Authentication, CDN services, browser services, maps, video providers, payment providers and external websites. We are not responsible for third-party websites, accounts, outages, terms, policies, security incidents or processing except where the law says otherwise.

14. Intellectual property

The website design, branding, layout, text, code, graphics and platform structure are protected by intellectual property rights belonging to the relevant owner, licensor or developer. You must not copy, resell, reverse engineer or reuse platform materials except as allowed by law or with written permission.

15. Disclaimers and liability limits

The platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not promise that every feature will meet your needs, remain available, remain unchanged, or be compatible with every browser, device or network.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, statutory data protection rights, consumer rights that cannot be excluded, or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

16. Changes to the platform or these terms

We may change, suspend or remove features where needed for security, maintenance, legal compliance, operational reasons or service improvement. We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of the platform after an update means you accept the updated terms.

17. Governing law

These terms are intended to be governed by the laws applicable to the organisation operating the New Ballagh Centre platform, subject to mandatory consumer, privacy and data protection rights that apply in your location.

18. Contact and reporting

For privacy, account, moderation, safety or platform enquiries, contact: manager@rcdc.ie. If a message or post creates an immediate risk of harm, contact emergency services or the appropriate statutory authority first.

Privacy Notice

1. Why we collect data

We collect and use data to provide member accounts, bookings, courses, staff training, certificates, communications, marketplace features, community chat, reminders, moderation, safety, security, support and administration.

2. Types of data processed

• Account details: name, email address, login provider, profile image, county and role.
• Booking and learning data: events, courses, staff training assignments, module progress, Q&A completion status, certificate dates, attendance and payment status.
• Community data: comments, chat posts, chat group memberships, marketplace listings, message threads, reports and moderation actions.
• Technical data: authentication identifiers, timestamps, uploaded file paths, browser storage, security logs and diagnostic information.

3. Legal bases

Depending on the activity, we process data because it is needed to provide the service you request, because you have consented, because we have legitimate interests in running and protecting the platform, because it is needed for legal obligations, or because it is necessary for safety, safeguarding and administration.

4. Sharing and processors

We may share data with technical providers, including Google Firebase and authorised development/support providers, where needed to operate the service. We may also share data where required by law, safeguarding duties, security investigations, disputes, insurance, audit, debt/payment handling or enforcement of these terms.

5. International processing

Some providers may process or store data outside Ireland, the UK or the European Economic Area. Where this happens, we rely on appropriate contractual or legal safeguards used by those providers where required.

6. Retention

We keep data only as long as reasonably needed for the platform, legal, safeguarding, financial, audit, dispute, backup or security purposes. Deleted account data may remain temporarily in backups or retained records where lawful.

7. Your rights

You may have rights to access, rectify, delete, restrict, object to or receive a copy of your personal data. You may also have the right to complain to a relevant data protection authority. These rights are subject to legal limits and verification of your identity.

8. Security incidents

If we become aware of a personal data breach that legally requires notification, we will take steps required by applicable data protection law. We do not accept responsibility for incidents caused by your own device, email account, password sharing, third-party services outside our control, or content you choose to share publicly, except where liability cannot legally be excluded.