Governance
We have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Personal Data, Complaints and Appeals, and Protected Disclosures among other areas. You will find contact information in each section.
Léargas Codes and Policies
What is Léargas?
Léargas is a registered charity, established in 1986. We operate under the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Skills
What Do You Do?
We manage funding programmes in international exchange and cooperation in formal, non-formal and informal education. We work closely with the Department of Education, the Department of Children, Equality, Disabiltiy, Integration and Youth, the European Commission, and other related agencies in Ireland and throughout Europe.
Does Léargas Have a Strategy Statement?
Yes, we do. You can download our Strategy Statement 2021-2023.
Do You Have Codes You Adhere To?
Yes, we do. You can download our Code of Conduct and Code of Best Practice.
What is Your Child Safeguarding Policy?
We believe that the best interests of the children and young people we work with are paramount. Read our Child Safeguarding Statement for information.
Do You Have a Quality Customer Charter?
Yes, we do. We commit to setting out standards of quality service that all our customers can expect from us. Our Quality Customer Charter 2023-2027 outlines those standards and the actions we take to meet them.
Where Can I Find Out About Freedom of Information (FOI)?
Visit our Freedom of Information section.
Personal Data
How Might Your Process Affect My Privacy If I Want to Get Involved?
To manage European funding programmes properly, we need to process personal data of people who may be interested in, apply for, and/or take part in these programmes. Staff in Léargas, the relevant government departments, the European Commission and other agencies and evaluators with whom Léargas works have access to the information and use it only for the purposes for which it was supplied.
You Mentioned “Personal Data”. Can You Tell Me More About Your Privacy Policy?
Absolutely. We fully respect your right to privacy. Any personal information that you volunteer to Léargas will be treated with the highest standards of security and confidentiality, in accordance with the Data Protection Bill 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (EU 2016/680). Any information you provide is used by Léargas only in line with the purpose for which you provided it. Your personal data may also be anonymised and used for statistical purposes. Read our Privacy Policy for more information.
NOTE: Please keep in mind that the privacy practices outlined above refer exclusively to the Léargas website. They do not cover other websites that we link to from this site. Please check each respective website for their privacy practices if you have any concerns.
What Methods Do You Use to Collect Information?
To collect information, we use:
- Website cookies
- Google Analytics
- HubSpot
- Mailing lists
- Event registration.
Read our Privacy Policy for more information.
Can You Provide More Information on These Methods?
Of course! Find further information on each of these methods below.
Website cookies: Cookies are small data files that are placed on your device (such as your computer, tablet or smart phone) as you browse a website. We use them to ‘remember’ when your device accesses our website. Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, and generally improving your user experience.
Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google Inc. The collected data will be transferred to, and stored on, a server in the USA operated by Google, Inc. Google, Inc. may transfer this data to third parties where required by law, or other third-party processors used by Google, Inc. You may prevent cookies from being stored in relation to your visit to, and use of, our website. For more information on Google Analytics and their Privacy Policy, visit their Safeguarding Your Data page.
HubSpot: HubSpot is a platform that hosts elements of our website. This website uses a HubSpot tracking code, which uses cookies or similar technologies to track visitors. We use the information gathered to improve our website functionality, the user experience and content.
Mailing Lists: This is an element of HubSpot which allows us to deliver our newsletters. We collect personal information like email addresses to manage the subscription and delivery process.
Event Registration: We use SALTO, Eventbrite, Hubspot, SurveyMonkey and Facebook websites for event registration, and we use the personal data you provide to help us manage the event and meet your information needs
What Types of Data Do You Collect, and Why?
Website Cookies: We use cookies to collect information about your browsing behaviour.
- Browsing behaviour includes information about pages you’ve viewed and your journey around our website. We use this information to judge how well we’re meeting the information needs of our website visitors.
NOTE: You can disable cookies by changing your website browser settings to reject cookies. How you do this will depend on the browser you use. You can find more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.eu.
HubSpot: HubSpot uses log files, which may collect demographic information, hardware/software information and navigational information from you.
- Demographic information includes, for example, address, age, or interests.
- Hardware/Software information includes information on your IP addresses, device and software identifiers, referring and exit URLs, on-site behaviour, feature use metrics and statistics. This information is used for the newsletter Subscription Service. For these purposes, we do link this automatically-collected data to Personal Information such as name, email address, address, and phone number. We use the information gathered to improve our website functionality, the user experience and content.
- Navigational information is used to improve your experience of using the website and to ease navigation around the site.
- Mailing Lists: We use personal information obtained through the subscription process to tell you about events, training courses, deadlines and relevant articles or blogs. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry-standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our Newsletters and their delivery. You can unsubscribe from our list at any time using the ‘unsubscribe’ link included. We do not supply our mailing lists to other organisations or businesses. For more information, please see Hubspot’s privacy policy.
- Event Registration: When you register using SALTO, EventBrite, SurveyMonkey or Facebook, we use the personal data you provide to help us manage the event and meet your information needs. We may also use the data to build our lists of people who may be interested in hearing about or receiving funding through our programmes. We do not supply our registration lists to other organisations or businesses. Here are links to these tools’ respective Privacy Policies: SALTO, EventBrite, SurveyMonkey and Facebook.
Do I Have Access to My Own Personal Data?
Yes. Visit our Freedom of Information section for information.
Complaints and Appeals
How Do You Process Complaints?
We do our utmost to ensure satisfaction with the service you receive from Léargas and/or organisations that receive Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps funding. However, we recognise that issues may arise and have a process for handling complaints.
What Do You Define as a Complaint?
We define a complaint as dissatisfaction with the service you have received from Léargas–the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps National Agency–or from an organisation that has received funding.
If your complaint is about an organisation that has received funding, you must exhaust the funded organisation’s complaint procedure before submitting a complaint to Léargas.
When is a Complaint an Appeal?
We define an appeal as a request for a review of a decision taken by Léargas that you feel is incorrect or unfair, and that you would like us to reconsider. There is an appeals procedure for Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps applicants and beneficiaries. See ‘Do you have an Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Appeals Procedure?’ below.
How Do I Make a Complaint?
If you have exhausted the funded organisation’s complaints procedure and wish to submit a complaint to Léargas, you should download the Complaints form and save it to your device. Then email the completed form with the subject ‘Complaint’ to complaints@leargas.ie.
Who Will Deal with My Complaint?
We will direct your complaint to the relevant section to investigate and respond within the timescales detailed below.
What Happens Next?
We aim to acknowledge receipt of your complaint within one working day and to provide you with a full response within 10 working days. In more complex cases, it may take longer than this to respond, but we will keep you updated on progress.
Do You Have an Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Appeals Procedure?
Yes. If you believe that the procedural rules (as outlined in Part C of the Erasmus + Programme Guide, Information for Applicants; or in Part E of the European Solidarity Corps Programme Guide, Information for Applicants)) have not been followed in the award of your grant, you may appeal the decision to Léargas.
A written appeal–issued by the authorised application signatory–must be submitted within 10 working days of the date of receipt of your grant award notification to appeals@leargas.ie. Appeals will be acknowledged, and a final decision announced within 10 working days of receipt.
Important Note: Questioning the results of the qualitative assessment of a grant application cannot constitute the basis for an appeal.
Protected Disclosures
What are Protected Disclosures?
A ‘Protected Disclosure’ means any information that comes to the attention of workers in connection with their work, which they reasonably believe tends to show wrongdoing. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 sets out the scope of protected disclosures.
Section 22 of the act requires the publication of a report each year on the number of protected disclosures made in the preceding year, and any actions taken in response to such disclosures.
What Protected Disclosures Has Léargas Received?
No Protected Disclosures were received in the reporting period to 31 December 2021.
Léargas Report for 2021
Léargas Report for 2020
Léargas Reports for 2014-2019
How Do I Make a Protected Disclosure?
Contact the person responsible for Protected Disclosures at pd@leargas.ie
Legal Disclaimer
Neither Léargas, the European Commission nor any third parties, who may provide information to the Léargas website for dissemination purposes, shall have any responsibility for or be liable in respect of the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein, nor for the consequences of any actions taken or not taken as a result of this information. Reasonable efforts have been made at the time of publishing each page to examine the contents of each organisation and publication linked to on this website, but no responsibility is taken for the contents contained on such links. Léargas reserves the right to revise, amend, alter or delete the information provided herein at any time, but shall not be responsible for or liable in respect of any such revisions, amendments, alterations or deletions.