Using the ALAB Website

The Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB) was established under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 as amended. The purpose of ALAB is to provide an independent authority for the determination of appeals against decisions of the Minister on applications for aquaculture licences.

In performing this task, ALAB aims to be fully transparent in its decision-making process. In this context ALAB provides access to documentation which is produced and considered as part of the administration and determination of an appeal.

The ALAB website provides access to documents relating to active appeals and to those appeals which have been concluded. It also provides information on the process of submitting an appeal as well as other resources relevant to the work of the Board as set out below.  

The Website

Active Appeals

All appeals currently under consideration by the Board appear on the ‘Active Appeals’ section of the website.

• The first screen provides an overview of all active appeals organised by Bay
• By expanding the dropdown menu, a summary of all appeals within each Bay is presented
• Within each appeal, click on ‘View’ to access the Schedule of Documents relevant to that Appeal from where any individual document may be viewed

Note: The current status of each appeal is indicated in terms of ‘stages’. For further information on the appeal process and on the meaning of each ‘stage’ see the document on ‘Overview of the Appeal Process’.

Appeals Archive

The appeals archive makes available all appeals for which the Board has reached a determination and are therefore closed. The Archive makes available all such appeals for the previous ten years and is searchable by the year in which the appeal was received.

Access to appeal documentation relating to earlier appeals may be accessed by submitting a request to info@alab.ie or by contacting the ALAB Office.

Lodge an Appeal

This section provides essential information in relation to lodging an appeal as set down in the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 (as amended). The Appeal Form is available for download in both Irish and English versions. A link is also provided to Oral Hearing Guidelines. A brief overview of the appeals process is also available.

Aquaculture Resources

Legislation: provides links to legislation and associated Regulations which are of particular relevance to the work of the Board.

Aquaculture Links: provides links to organisations which are relevant to the work of the Board and/or have an interest in aquaculture.

Corporate Resources

As a non-commercial State body, ALAB has a range of responsibilities in terms of preparing and publishing information relevant to the functioning of the Board and its various policies. In this section you will find information on the composition of the Board, the Board’s Annual Reports and its various policies.

Information Requests

This section provides information on the submission of Freedom of Information requests and Access to Environmental information as well as a summary of such requests received.

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Note: For information on the Judicial Review process, see the document on ‘Overview of the Appeal Process’.