Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
542. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Economic and Social Research Institute, the Institute of Public Administration and the Special EU Programmes Body as bodies under his aegis are in compliance with the Web Accessibility Directive EU 2016/2021 with regard to websites from 23 September 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15339/21]
View answerIn the first instance, the Deputy may wish to note the nature of the bodies referenced in his question. The Institute of Public Administration (IPA) and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) are companies limited by guarantee who are in receipt of grant funding from my Department. The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is a cross-border North South Implementation Body, established on foot of the Good Friday Agreement and jointly sponsored by my Department and the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. The SEUPB operates under the policy direction of the North South Ministerial Council, and is headquartered in Belfast, with smaller offices in Omagh and Monaghan.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the Special EU Programmes Body is fully compliant with the Web Accessibility Directive EU 2016/2102.
I am advised of the following in respect of the other two bodies.
|
Body / Agency |
Current Position |
|
Institute of Public Administration (IPA) |
Accessibility is defined within the Directive as meaning web content and mobile apps must be “Perceivable, Operable and Usable” by persons with disabilities, and they must be “Robust” enough to work on different browsers, and with different assistive technologies. The IPA deems its website to fall within these parameters. However, the IPA has not undertaken an independent external assessment of its website under the EU Directive referenced above.
|
|
Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) |
The EU directive requires that website’s comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG A and AA standards. The ESRI website is close to meeting these standards, based on a recent assessment. The ESRI website was built with accessibility and usability at its core, and was built to be accessible to the WCAG standard as per Web Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA. A recent accessibility assessment has identified that overall the ESRI website is close to meeting WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA. A small number of areas have been identified where improvement is required. The ESRI is committed to implementing these improvements as and when identified, and to continuously review and improve its website accessibility on an ongoing basis. |
