Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 December 2004
140 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied that the Government’s e-tenders website (details supplied) is compliant with reasonable accessibility guidelines, in view of the fact that two major websites which validate compliance with accessibility guidelines indicate that the site fails to meet priority one, priority two and priority three standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31687/04]
View answerFirst, let me say that I am fully committed to accessibility for all. In the case of people with disabilities and access to the e-tenders website, work is ongoing to meet all WAI/WCAG accessibility standards, priority levels one to three.
A recent outline accessibility study, carried out by the National Disability Authority, NDA, found that the site was reasonably compliant in relation to priority one. Some relatively minor changes are required to achieve full compliance and this work is in progress. To achieve compliance with priority two, which is the minimum level recommended by the NDA, a full audit will be undertaken in early 2005 to establish the requirements for ensuring full compliance. This study will not rely solely on automated checking tools but will address the execution of typical tasks with the help of people with disabilities. In adopting priority three, consideration will be given to the availability of software and technical capability — connectivity and browser levels — of existing users, including SMEs.
