Cookies Statement

When you first visit this website, you will be presented with a cookie banner informing you about the use of cookies. You can choose to accept or reject non‑essential cookies.

Analytics cookies and embedded third‑party content will not be activated unless you have provided your consent. You may change or withdraw your consent at any time via the cookie settings.

We use an internal cookie consent management banner script to dynamically record, manage, and store your specific cookie privacy selections. To remember the category permissions you explicitly accepted or denied, our script saves a secure tracking string parameter (__gdst_cookie_consent) directly inside your local browser memory blocks. This identifier acts solely as an operational stop-gate to prevent the footer banner overlay from reloading on subsequent page views, and it is categorised strictly under Essential/Necessary features.

We use Polylang to provide multi-language localisation features and handle dynamic translation matrices across our website. To deliver the correct translation content seamlessly, the system drops a localised cookie (pll_language) to remember your preferred language selection (such as English or Irish) for your subsequent visits. Because this asset processes your choice locally on our server nodes without transferring identifier metrics or data parameters to external networks, it is categorised strictly under Essential/Necessary features.

We use Cloudflare as a secure reverse-proxy and content delivery network (CDN) to optimise page loading speeds and defend our platform infrastructure from network abuse. To differentiate legitimate visitors from malicious automated web traffic, scripts, or spam bots, Cloudflare assigns temporary browser cookies (__cf_bm and _cfuvid). This connection routes your connection request through encrypted global routing pathways and processes network headers purely for web security and operational traffic management purposes, categorizing these network elements strictly under Essential/Necessary features.

We use OpenStreetMap and CARTO basemaps to display interactive geographical maps on our website. To deliver these map layers, your browser establishes a direct connection to external servers (openstreetmap.org and cartocdn.com). This connection processes your IP address (which is classified as Personal Data under the GDPR) purely for technical operational routing, performance distribution, and security optimisation purposes. Because these layers do not utilise commercial profiling identifiers, they are categorised as Functional features.

We use Google Analytics (GA4) to analyse user behaviour, measure traffic, and optimise our website performance. Google Analytics collects anonymised interaction data, device information, and geographic location statistics. Under the GDPR, this processing aggregates personal data to build user profiles. We execute these tracking scripts exclusively through Google Consent Mode v2, ensuring that no statistical measurement tags are loaded or initialised until you provide explicit prior consent. These features are categorised strictly under Analytics features.

We use embedded YouTube video streams to provide background loops and interactive media playback on our website. To protect your privacy, we serve these videos exclusively through YouTube’s privacy-enhanced domain (youtube-nocookie.com). However, loading a video still requires your browser to establish a direct connection to Google’s external servers, which processes your IP address and device identifier. This data may be used by Google for analytics, personalisation, and cross-site tracking. Consequently, these video features are categorised under Marketing features and remain completely blocked until your explicit consent is granted.

Most browsers allow you to turn off cookies or to customise your settings for cookies. To find out how to do this, see the ‘Help’ menu on your browser. Please note that if you turn off cookies or change your settings, some features of this site may not work correctly.

The Department of Transport and Irish Coast Guard uses cookies to anonymously gather user statistics and protect against malicious attack.

This website may contain links to external non-Department websites. The Department of Transport and the Irish Coast Guard are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of external websites.