There are two levels of Research Ethics Committees in the Institute, at Faculty/Department level and at Institute level (IREC).
All staff and students of IT Sligo are required to plan and conduct their research investigations in accordance with appropriate ethical standards. Staff should ensure that they have knowledge of any relevant disciplinary guidelines on research ethics and that any empirical research has the required approval by the Research Ethics Committees.
All potential applicants should be familiar with the Research Ethics Policy and the related Research Ethics Procedure.
The function of each of the Research Ethics Committees is to safeguard the health, welfare and rights of human participants and researchers in research studies. For any research proposal to gain ethical approval it must be necessary and of a design that minimises predictable risk to both the research participant and the researcher.
The Research Ethics Committees aspires to provide comprehensive and independent reviews of the ethics of proposed studies, acting in accordance with good ethical practice as dictated by relevant EU Directives, National legislation and practice guidelines. If the proposed research involves patients (i.e. people who are receiving treatment as a result of an illness) the applicant should seek confirmation of the need to submit their application to the relevant hospital’s Research Ethics Committees.
Where to apply?
Applicants should consider which research ethics committee that their application needs to be considered at by reviewing the flowchart below. The IREC only reviews applications from staff research projects and post graduate research students and those applications which the Schools Research Ethics Committees feel require further consideration by the IREC. The IREC does NOT consider applications from taught Masters Students or undergraduate students.
How to apply?
Applications to Faculty/Department Research Ethics Committee:
Please liaise with your lecturer/ supervisor to ascertain the process for applying to your School/ Department research ethics committee.
Applications to Institute Research Ethics Committee:
As part of the online application process, Applicants are requested to upload one electronic copy of the Self Declaration Form and associated appendages (as part of the online application process) by the deadline date.
In addition a copy of the signature page (download signature page template) for the Self Declaration form needs to be downloaded, signed and uploaded as part of the online application process.
Please see below dates for the academic year 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Complete online application to the Research Ethics Committee
Applications will not be processed without the signature page. Signatures must be original.
In cases where other research ethics committees have reviewed the application, copies of their responses must be uploaded as part of the application process.
As soon as feasible after the closing date for receipt of applications, the application will be allocated an IREC reference number. This number will be sent to the principal investigator to acknowledge receipt of the application. This number should be quoted on any further correspondence between the IREC and the principal investigator.
IREC Committee meeting & Submission dates Academic Year 2018-2019
| IREC committee meeting dates | Closing date for receipt of applications |
| March 6th 2019 | |
| June 13th 2019 | May 23rd 2019 |
IREC Committee meeting & Submission dates Academic Year 2019-2020
| IREC committee meeting dates | Date for receipt of applications |
| October 10th 2019 | September 16th 2019 |
| November 26th 2019 | November 5th 2019 |
| February 11th 2020 | January 21st 2020 |
| May 5th 2020 | April 14th 20120 |
Please Note: applicants must be in a position to attend the IREC meeting on the date their application is being reviewed.
Helpful links/ documents
National and international guidance documents
- International Ethical Guidelines for epidemiological studies WHO
- Operational_Procedures1 for reserach ethics committees
- The Irish council for Bioethics 2004
- HRB policy of research ethics
- Ethics for researchers EUROPE
- inf206 guidelines for internet mediated research
Animal / Genetic research
- HRB_Paper_on_the_Legal_and_Ethical_Considerations_for_Genetic_Research
- HRB_Policy_on_use_of_animals_in_research
Data Protection
- Webinar on GDPR and health research regulations 2018
- Data protection guidelines on reserach in the health sector
- Data Protection Act 2003
