ESB respects your privacy, and will not collect or record personal information about you from this website except when provided by you in respect of a requested task. This information will only be used for the purpose for which you intended. Any personal information which you volunteer will be treated in confidence applying reasonable standards of security, in accordance with the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003. Any information which you provide will not be made available to third parties except in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Collection and use of personal information
ESB collects information through this website from you in three ways:
–Via email
–Via web technical logs
–Via web forms
If you choose to contact ESB via email, your details will be used only for the purposes for which you intended. When your email has been actioned, the original message will be retained by ESB for a reasonable period of time.
Note: Email is a not fully secure method of communication. If there are details which for any reason you do not wish to send via email, you should contact ESB by post or telephone. Contact details may be found on the Contact Us page.
Web Technical Logs
Technical details of your visit to this website are recorded for business reasons. None of this information can be used to ascertain your identity. The following technical details are recorded:
–IP addresses
–Top-level domain names e.g. .ie, .com, .org, .net
–Web search terms
–Browser-type used and operating system
This technical information will only be used for statistical and other administrative purposes.
This website does not use cookies, except for “session” cookies. Session cookies enable a web browser to record pages on a website which have already been visited.
Data protection
Where appropriate the ESB website makes use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to protect data. If you wish to find out more about how ESB manages issues of website data protection please contact us via email to service@esb.ie.
If you wish to find out more about data protection in Ireland please visit the website of the Data Protection Commissioner.
Glossary of technical terms
“Web browser”
The software used to view the web, e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, Safari etc.
“IP address”
The identifying number of a computer directly connected to the internet expressed in “internet protocol” code e.g. 123.456.789.123. If you must “dial-up” to connect to the internet, the IP code will be the code of the computer you have dialled-into and not your computer.
“Cookies”
Text-based pieces of information placed on your computer by a web site. Cookies are used by websites to record aspects of your visit.
“Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)”
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is the most commonly-used protocol for managing the security of transactions on the internet. SSL works by encrypting data so that it is virtually impossible for anyone other than those authorised to read. A webpage that is secure will display a “padlock” or “key icon” in bottom of the screen when you are logged in to the site. The address of the page will also read as https:// – the ‘s’ means the page is secure.