Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY CONSENT.

The Website and its Content is owned by Maria Lucey RD (“Company”, “we”, or “us”). The term “you” refers to the user or viewer of our Website (“Website”).

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process and distribute your information, including Personal Data (as defined below) used to access this Website. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. The use of information collected through our Website shall be limited to the purposes under this Privacy Policy, and also our Terms of Use if you’re a client or customer.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy on the Website at any time without notice. In the event of a material change, we will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Website.

Use of any personal information or contribution that you provide to us, or which is collected by us on or through our Website or its content is governed by this Privacy Policy. By using our Website or its content, you consent to this Privacy Policy, whether or not you have read it.

We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. This policy is effective from the 1st of August 2020. Last Updated Sept 2024.

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Statement as appropriate. Every time you use this website, you will be bound by the most recent version of the Statement. Therefore, we recommend reviewing the Privacy Statement each time you use this website.

GENERAL

I am a Registered Dietitian with CORÚ, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council in Ireland (CORU, membership number:  DI019908) and a member of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI, membership number: 1449). I am also a Registered Dietitian in Bermuda with the Bermuda Health Council (membership number 49).

As a registered dietitian, I am bound to a code of professional conduct and ethics for dietitians. I have been trained to translate the science of nutrition into sound and practical nutrition information and aim to use my skills in this area in an accurate and professionally responsible manner.

The information on the Maria Lucey RD website and corresponding social media channels is not to be used as an alternative to personally tailored advice given by your own dietitian, doctor or nurse - or as a substitute for seeing a registered dietitian or another qualified healthcare professional. It does not constitute professional advice. Therefore, we disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by any visitor to this site or corresponding social media channels. Specialist advice must be obtained before taking or refraining from taking action on the basis of any content on this site.

Maria Lucey RD does not warrant or guarantee that all services listed or advertised may be available at all times and reserves the right to withdraw or amend any services.

WHO WE ARE?

​My name is Maria Lucey and I own a dietetic consultancy under the name of Maria Lucey RD. Our website address is https://www.marialuceydietitian.com. Maria Lucey RD is registered with the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in Ireland.

I am committed to protecting the security of your data. At Maria Lucey RD we do not require you to provide personal information unless you wish to contact us or avail of features or services on this website (such as making an appointment). Where you do send us data it will be used for the stated purpose and any other reasonable purposes only. We do not sell or distribute your personal information to third parties for purposes of allowing them to market products and services to you.

INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT.

We collect personal information from you so that we can provide you with a positive experience when utilizing our Website or content. We will only collect the minimum amount of information necessary for us to fulfill our obligation to you. We collect data and process data when you:

• Access this website via a browser or search engine. No personal information is revealed to us, however, certain statistical information is available to us via our internet service provider. This information may include the IP address of the server you are using, the top-level domain name from which you access the internet (for example, .ie, .com, etc.), the type of browser you are using, the date and time you access our site and the internet address linking to our site.
• Use or view our website via your browser’s cookies. The technical platform of this website uses cookies solely to aid the proper technical functioning of the website. We do not make use of cookies to collect any private or personally identifiable information. To learn more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).
• Email us via the contact form on the website or email us directly via [email protected]. If you enquire about or use our services, we may store details relevant to providing you with the service, including contact details, information about the project or service requested and invoicing details.
• Choose to subscribe to Maria Lucey RD. Your name and email address are added to a secure list within my ConvertKit account so that I can send free newsletters to you, as well as information and offers from time to time that I feel may be of interest to you. All subscribers to this email list are clearly informed about how their data will be used, stored, processed and tracked using the ConvertKit service on my newsletter sign-up notice before choosing whether to opt in or not. Subscribers' email addresses are used for no other purposes than those outlined above, and they are free to opt out at any time. Verifiable consent is obtained using a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant sign-up form that stores permission data in list export files (per the ConvertKit service). A double opt-in method is also used to ensure explicit consent is obtained for the subscription.
• Avail of any of Maria Lucey RD’s Services. Relevant information which is needed to complete these services may be collected. For example: contact details to facilitate communication, details needed for invoicing or information needed for completing an individual nutritional assessment. Explicit informed consent is obtained prior to gathering any of this information using Maria Lucey RD’s client agreement for individual nutritional advice.
• Pay for your consultation or service on our website. We use both PayPal and Stripe Payments Plugin to manage your shopping experience. When you purchase from us, we’ll ask you to provide information, including your name, billing address, shipping address, email address, phone number and credit card/payment details. We’ll use this information for purposes such as to:
  • Send you information about your order.
  • Respond to your requests, including refunds.
  • Process payments and prevent fraud
  • Comply with any legal obligations we have, such as calculating taxes
• View a co-branded offer. In this case, we will make clear as to who is collecting the information and whose privacy policy applies. If both / all parties are retaining the information you provide, this will also be made clear, as will links to all privacy policies.

Please note that the information above (“Personal Data”) that you are giving to us is voluntarily, and by providing this information to us you are giving consent for us to use, collect and process this Personal Data. You are welcome to opt-out or request for us to delete your Personal Data at any point by contacting us at [email protected].

If you choose not to provide us with certain Personal Data, you may not be able to participate in certain aspects of our Website or Content.

WHAT WE DO WITH INFORMATION WE COLLECT.

(1) Contact You.

We may contact you with information that you provide to us based on these lawful grounds for processing:

a) Consent. We may contact you if you give us your clear, unambiguous, affirmative consent to contact you.

b) Contract. We will contact you under our contractual obligation to deliver goods or services you purchase from us.

c) Legitimate Interest. We may contact you if we feel you have a legitimate interest in hearing from us. For example, if you sign up for a webinar, we may send you marketing emails based on the content of that webinar. You will always have the option to opt out of any of our emails.

(2) Process Payments.

We will use the Personal Data you give to us in order to process your payment for the purchase of goods or services under a contract. We only use third party payment processors that take the utmost care in securing data and comply with the GDPR.

(3) Targeted Social Media Advertisements.

We may use the data you provide to us to run social media advertisements and / or create look-alike audiences for advertisements.

(4) Share with Third Parties.

We may share your information with trusted third paries such as our newsletter provider in order to contact you via email, or our merchant accounts to process payments, and Google / social media accounts in order to run advertisements and our affiliates.

VIEWING BY OTHERS.

Note that whenever you voluntarily make your Personal Data available for viewing by others online through this Website or its content, it may be seen, collected and used by others, and therefore, we cannot be responsible for any unauthorized or improper use of the information that you voluntarily share (i.e., sharing a comment on a blog post, posting in a Facebook group that we manage, sharing details on a group coaching call, etc.).

SUBMISSION, STORAGE, SHARING, SECURITY AND TRANSFERRING OF PERSONAL DATA.

Personal Data that you provide to us is stored internally or through a data management system. Your Personal Data will only be accessed by those who help to obtain, manage or store that information, or who have a legitimate need to know such Personal Data (i.e., our hosting provider, newsletter provider, payment processors or team members).

It is important to note that we may transfer data internationally. For users in the European Union, please be aware that we transfer Personal Data outside of the European Union. By using our Website and providing us with your Personal Data, you consent to these transfers in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Maria Lucey RD is committed to ensuring that all personal information is secure. 

• In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, Maria Lucey RD has put in place procedures to safeguard and secure any information collected. This includes the security of the electronic devices used to process personal data (via use of a firewall and only password protected electronic devices are used).
• We generally store information about you for as long as we need the information for the purposes for which we collect and use it, and we are not legally required to continue to keep it. For example, we will store order information for 10 years for tax and accounting purposes. This includes your name, email address and billing and shipping addresses.
• Any information provided by you via email, contact form, video call or telephone that is not linked to an ongoing service relationship will be deleted after 1 year.
• By instructing Maria Lucey to provide clinical services to you, your data will be stored for eight years in accordance with the CORU Standards for Records and Record-Keeping (as these are medical records). For clients under the age of 18, records will be kept until your 21st birthday.
• Contact details of email subscribers are stored by the ConvertKit service which is GDPR compliant. This information is kept until the individual unsubscribes or requests that I delete this information
• Service providers used to store and process information related to carrying out dietetic services for clients all have robust security procedures in place and are GDPR compliant. These service providers include:  Cloud Storage Services (for record-keeping), JotForm for pre-consultation/discovery call forms, PracticeBetter booking software and Zoom video conferencing software. All information is handled confidentially. CORÚ record-keeping guidelines are strictly adhered to for one-to-one consultations.
• Any contact I receive on social media is also handled securely and confidentially in line with the GDPR. I will delete any social media messages upon request from the individual concerned, and all contact will be deleted within one year following our last correspondence.

CONFIDENTIALITY.

We aim to keep the Personal Data that you share with us confidential. Please note that we may disclose such information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that: (1) such action is necessary to protect and defend our property or rights or those of our users or licensees, (2) to act as immediately necessary in order to protect the personal safety or rights of our users or the public, or (3) to investigate or respond to any real or perceived violation of this Privacy Policy or of our Website Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions, or any other Terms of Use or agreement with us.

PASSWORDS.

To use certain features of the Website or its content, you may need a username and password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the username and password, and you are responsible for all activities, whether by you or by others, that occur under your username or password and within your account. We cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your username, password or account information. If you share your username or password with others, they may be able to obtain access to your Personal Data at your own risk.

You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized or improper use of your username or password or any other breach of security. To help protect against unauthorized or improper use, make sure that you log out at the end of each session requiring your username and password.

We will use our best efforts to keep your username and password(s) private and will not otherwise share your password(s) without your consent, except as necessary when the law requires it or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary, particularly when disclosure is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to others or interfering with our rights or property.

COMMENTS.

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

MEDIA.

Suggested text: If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

HOW YOU CAN ACCESS, UPDATE OR DELETE YOUR PERSONAL DATA.

• You have the right to access your data and to have any inaccuracies in the details we hold corrected. You also have the right to have the information erased if we do not have a legitimate reason for retaining it.
• If you believe that any information we are holding related to you is incorrect or incomplete, please contact me as soon as possible, and I will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.
• Please note that there is a legal duty to maintain health records for 8 years from final contact (for adult clients), so removal of data requests from clients who have received one to one nutrition advice will be handled on an individual basis and in accordance with CORÚ guidelines.
• I (Maria Lucey) am the data controller and Data Protection Officer (DPO) at Maria Lucey RD, so please contact me on [email protected] with any queries or requests related to your personal data and I will respond promptly. Please be aware that we may require you to provide additional information to enable us to identify your personal data and/or to verify your identity.
• Subscribers to my email list can also update your information using the ‘update your preferences’ button provided on each email which is sent, or by contacting myself or ConvertKit. All contact made via this email subscription list are also provided with an opt-out facility (the ‘unsubscribe’ button at the end of all emails).
• For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

UNSUBSCRIBE.

You may unsubscribe from our e-newsletters or updates at any time through the unsubscribe link at the footer of all email communications. If you have questions or are experiencing problems unsubscribing, please contact us at [email protected]

ANTI-SPAM POLICY.

We have a no spam policy and provide you with the ability to opt-out of our communications by selecting the unsubscribe link at the footer of all e-mails. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure that we are compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 by never sending out misleading information. We will not sell, rent or share your email address.

THIRD PARTY WEBSITES.

We may link to other websites on our Website. We have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of any other individual, company or entity whose website or materials may be linked to our Website or its content, and thus we cannot be held liable for the privacy of the information on their website or that you voluntarily share with their website. Please review their privacy policies for guidelines as to how they respectively store, use and protect the privacy of your Personal Data.

CHILDREN'S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT COMPLIANCE.

We do not collect any information from anyone under 18 years of age in compliance with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) and the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation of the EU). Our Website and its content is directed to individuals who are at least 18 years old or older.

Additional Information

Any changes made to this privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notifications will be sent to subscribers or clients by e-mail. Please check this page frequently to see any updates or changes to Maria Lucey RD’s privacy policy.