Rules and Regulations of Hardware Association Ireland

  1. Membership

1.0 Definitions

Member – Membership of Hardware Association Ireland is open to hardware and builders merchants, distributors and manufacturers of hardware, building materials or allied commodities.

Corporate Partner – Becoming a Corporate Partner of HAI is open to those companies not themselves directly engaged in the sector but have an ancillary interest in the industry and wish to develop their interests through the Association, e.g. Service/Commodity/Utility Providers.

Corporate Partners will have many of the commercial benefits that members have. As they will not be members, they will not have the voting rights of members, nor entitlement to any office on the board.

1.1 Subscription fees

  1. The annual subscription and entrance fee, as required, shall be determined and may from time to time be varied by the Executive Committee. All annual subscriptions shall be payable in advance and shall be first due on election to membership/corporate partnership and subsequently on the first of January of each year, or 12 months after date of invoice if payment on a rolling basis.
  2. Any member/corporate partner who shall fail to pay its annual subscription or any part thereof by the thirteenth of May in the year or 4.5 months after date of invoice if payment on a rolling basis, in which same is payable shall thereupon in the absence of exceptional circumstances cease to be a member/corporate partner of the Company and shall forfeit all the rights, privileges and benefits of memberships/corporate partnerships but shall not thereby be relieved of any pecuniary liability which has already been contracted with the Company. The Executive Committee may, in their absolute discretion, deem certain circumstances so exceptional as to warrant the default of any defaultee and in such circumstances may extend the period.
  3. All monies received on account of subscription or otherwise shall be applied in carrying out the objects of the Company and in paying the expenses of management according to the rules thereof.
  4. No member shall be entitled to vote or exercise any privilege of membership whose subscription is in arrears.
  5. Each member shall supply to the CEO of the Company, when and if called upon to do so, a return showing the number of persons in its employment on the first day of January in each year (or when requested) for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of subscription of each member under this article.

 

1.2 Termination of Membership/Corporate Partnership

A member/corporate partner shall cease to be a member/corporate partner of the Company if:

  1. It signifies in writing its intention of ceasing to be a member/corporate partner;
  2. it infringes the rules of the Company or refuses to abide by the decisions of the Executive Committee and at a meeting of the Executive Committee of which at least twelve members are present it is decided by at least two-thirds of the members present that he shall cease to be a member/corporate partner provided that the member/corporate partner shall be given seven days’ notice of the Executive Committee’s intention of discussing the termination of his membership/corporate partnership and that an opportunity has been given to the member/corporate partner of explaining his act or conduct;
  3. if it shall become a bankrupt or compounded with its creditors or make an Assignment of its Estate for the benefit of his creditors;
  4. if it acts or conducts itself in any way which is detrimental to the Company and at a meeting of the Executive Committee of which at least twelve members are present it is decided by at least two-thirds of the members present that it shall cease to be member/corporate partner on account of the act or conduct provided that the member shall be given seven days’ notice of the Executive Committee’s intention of discussing the termination of his membership/corporate partnership and that an opportunity has been given to the member/corporate partner of explaining its act of conduct;
  5. if the annual subscription of the member/corporate partner is not paid before the thirteenth of May or 4.5 months after date of invoice if payment on a rolling basis, or within such extended time as the Executive Committee intimate to the member/corporate partner in writing that by reason of such non-payment he has ceased to be a member/corporate partner of the Company;
  6. if the member/corporate partner ceased to be qualified for membership/corporate partnership as prescribed by Articles 4 and 5;
  7. in the case of an individual on his/her death or in the case of a member/corporate partner which is a body corporate on its going into liquidation other than voluntary liquidation for the purpose of reconstruction or on its having a receiver appointed over its assets.
  8. No person, firm or company whose membership/corporate partnership has ceased for any reason whatsoever shall be entitled to a refund of any subscription or monies paid by him or it to the Company or have any claim on the funds or property of the Company or any officer, official or member of the Company.
  9. The first members of the Company shall be the subscribers to the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the existing members of the association.

 

1.3 Votes of members

  1. An individual member shall have one vote.
  2. A member being a Company or Partnership* or persons shall be entitled to nominate a representative to attend General Meetings which representative shall be entitled to one vote.
  3. No member shall be entitled to vote at any General Meeting unless all monies immediately payable by him to the Company have been paid subject however to the provisions of clause 1.1.
  4. No objection shall be raised to the qualification of any voter except at the meeting or adjourned meeting at which the vote objected to is given or tendered and every vote not disallowed at such meeting shall be valid for all purposes. Any such objection made in due time shall be referred to the Chairman of the meeting whose decision shall be final and conclusive.
  5. Votes must be given personally.
  6. Corporate Partners do not have voting privileges.

* Partnership in this case and henceforth refers to the legal definition of a company, and does not refer to a “Corporate Partner”. 

1.4 Bodies Corporate and Partnerships acting by representatives at Meetings

  1. Any body corporate which is a member of the Company may, by resolution of its directors or other governing body, authorise such person as it things fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company and the person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the body corporate which he represents as that body corporate could exercise if it were an individual member of the company.
  2. Any partnership which is a member of the Company may, by a majority of two-thirds of the partners, authorise such person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company and the person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the partnership which he represents as that partnership could exercise if it were an individual member of the Company. In the case of a partnership consisting of only two partners, both partners shall agree on the person to act as representative.

 

  1. Data Protection

 

2.1 Purpose

Hardware Association Ireland (HAI), as a Data Controller, is required by law to comply with the following Irish legislation relating to the processing of Personal Data:

 

2.2 Scope

In order to carry out its administrative functions HAI needs to collect and process personal information relating to its member/corporate partner organisations. HAI takes the confidentiality of all personal information seriously and consequently takes all reasonable steps to comply with the principles of the Data Protection Acts.

HAI aims to collect personal information only in order to meet administrative purposes, and to retain that information only for as long as those purposes remain valid. HAI will only pass personal information to a third party, where a Data Processing Agreement is in place, or where the organisation has opted-in to receive information from a third party.

HAI is committed to ensuring that all employees, agents, contractors and data processors comply with the Data Protection Acts regarding:

  • the processing and confidentiality of any personal data held by HAI, and
  • the privacy rights of individuals under the legislation.

 

2.3 Data Protection Principles

To comply with the law, information (as defined by the Data Protection Acts) must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed to any other person unlawfully. To do this, HAI must comply with the following eight Data Protection Principles or Obligations:

  1. Obtain and process information fairly.

The Data must be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully and only when certain conditions are met.

  1. Keep it only for one or more specific, explicit and lawful purposes.

            The Data can only be obtained for specified, lawful and clearly stated purposes and only processed in accordance with HAI’s notification to the Data Protection Commissioner.

  1. Use and disclose only in ways compatible with these purposes.

            Processing and Disclosure of personal data should not be incompatible with the specified purpose for which it was obtained.

  1. Keep it safe and secure.

            The Data must be kept safe and secure. HAI, as the Data Controller, is responsible for applying adequate security structures to prevent unlawful or inadvertent processing, alteration or loss of the data.

  1. Keep it accurate, complete and up-to-date.

            The Data must be kept accurate, complete and where necessary up-to-date.

  1. Ensure it is adequate, relevant and not excessive.

The Data obtained should be adequate, relevant and not excessive.

  1. Retain for no longer than is necessary.

The Data should not be kept for longer than is necessary for the purpose or purposes for which it was obtained.

  1. Give a copy of his/her personal data to that individual or organisation, on request.

 

The Data Subject, the person to whom the information relates, has a Right of Access. The Controller must store and maintain the data in such a manner as to be able to respond to a Subject Access Request in a timely manner.

 

2.4 Rights under the Acts (1988 & 2003)

  • The Data Subject is entitled to:
  • Access to a copy of any data held by HAI which relates to them;
  • Require that any inaccurate data held by HAI is corrected or erased;
  • Prevent processing of the data likely to cause them distress or damage;
  • Prevent evaluative decisions being made solely by automated means;
  • Prevent processing of their personal data for the purposes of Direct Marketing;
  • Request assistance from the Data Protection Commissioner’s Office; and
  • In the event of a breach of these rights, to pursue compensation through the Courts.

 

2.5 Subject Access Request (SAR)

A Data Subject is entitled to a copy of all data held by the Controller which relate to them. To be a valid request, the SAR must be:

  • Made in writing to the controller
  • Provide adequate identification

 

On receipt of a valid SAR, the Data Controller (HAI) must comply with the request as soon as possible, but within not more than 40 days from receipt of the request.

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