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Author Archives: Simon McGarr

Holiday Arrangements

We wish all our clients and colleagues a peaceful and restful holiday break and a happy new year. We will reopen on the 8th January 2024.

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McGarr Solicitors one of Ireland’s Best Law Firms 2022

Everyone likes to have their work recognised, but there is a particular satisfaction which comes from having your expertise recognised by your peers and colleagues. So it was a great honour to find that McGarr Solicitors had been listed as one of the top 75 Law Firms in Ireland by Statista, in conjunction with the Sunday Independent. It was particularly welcome that we were recognised for both our medical negligence work and our data protection expertise. Internationally, Statista has partnered […]

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Sample letter in response to Dept of Children refusal to provide Health Data in response to Mother and Baby Home survivor Data Subject Access Request

Dear Sirs, I write further to your letter of the [insert date of reply to SAR letter]. I note that, in response to a Data Subject Access Request made under Article 15 of the GDPR, the Department has acknowledged it holds a number of records relating to my health but has refused to provide them to me. Your letter, referred to above, cites SI 82/1989 as the basis for this refusal. You state; These 1989 Regulations mean that the Department […]

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How to Read the McAleese Report into the Magdalen Laundries

Preface The McAleese Report was published on 5th February 2013. It had been commissioned following a complaint to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) resulted in the then Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Sean Alymard, attending in Switzerland in May 2011 to address specific claims of state involvement in an organised system of forced labour and mistreatment.  The Irish State’s representative specifically denied the facts as they had been presented by the Justice for Magdalen’s research group. […]

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Sample Data Request Letter for the Mother and Baby Home Commission

This is intended to provide a guideline template letter for anyone who would like to access any data held relating to them by the Commission of Investigation Into Mother and Baby Homes. It should be sent immediately, given the short timeline before the Commission is scheduled to complete its work. The email address for the Commission is [email protected] ——— Dear Commission, I wish to make an access request under the Data Protection Acts and the GDPR for a confirmation that […]

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Office arrangements during Coronavirus circumstance

Our office will implement an increase in remote working from Monday 16th March. You can still reach us on 01-6351580 and by email on [email protected] and our individual email addresses. Post will be checked regularly, but wherever possible we would ask that communications be sent by email. These changes have been introduced in response to the government’s advice on social distancing. Please allow for any disruption we experience in the first few days, as we bed these processes down.

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Personal Data Transfers after Brexit (Aug 2019 edition)

“There will no longer be a fundamental right to data protection post Brexit & this is something which cannot be remedied by domestic legal settlements short of a British Bill of Rights, & even then perhaps not so if Parliament retains sovereignty” Professor Andrew D MurrayLondon School of Economics Brexit is a challenge to any UK organisation attempting to plan even a few months ahead. It may represent an even greater challenge for any other organisation trading with the UK. […]

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McGarr Solicitors finalists for Personal Injury/Medical Negligence Law Firm of the Year

It’s always nice to get a little nod of recognition for the work you do. So we’re very pleased to announce that McGarr Solicitors have been nominated as finalists in the Travelers Irish Law Awards in the category of Personal Injury/ Medical Negligence Law Firm of the Year. What makes the recognition of our work sweeter was the quote from our client in the nomination. “You trusted me when I came to see you and I had nothing but my […]

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Data Transfers and the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement

On 14th November 2018, the EU and British Government published a draft of a withdrawal agreement to deal with the UK’s departure from the EU. [This analysis has been updated as of 2nd April 2019]. The Agreement has since been endorsed by the governments of the EU member states. It has been rejected three times by the UK parliament. But, despite this, it remains the only available basis for the UK to leave the EU with transitionary arrangements, including arrancements […]

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The Facial Images on the PSC are Biometric Data

Mock PSC

Contention: That images of people’s faces which allow or confirm the identification of a person are biometric data and therefore data controllers and processors require a lawful basis under both Article 6 and Article 9 of the GDPR to process that data. Evidence: 1) The GDPR Article 4(14) of the General Data Protection Directive defines biometric data as follows; (emphasis added) ‘biometric data’ means personal data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of […]

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