My Department’s digital content migrated to a central platform, gov.ie, in September 2020. As users, the Department does not have a remit in the platform's overall compliance. The Department ensures, however, that relevant staff are trained properly according to the standard set out by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) who have responsibility for the platform. OGCIO have confirmed the following with regard to the accessibility of gov.ie:- Gov.ie partially complies with the double-A Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 standards and the 4 principles of accessibility in that it is perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. This is similar to most other government sites across the European Union.- One way that accessibility is being improved is by improving the level of plain English used for services on the site. This allows users of all levels to be able to find and understand information as quickly as possible.- The gov.ie team have performed multiple accessibility reviews since the website has gone live. The gov.ie team has engaged with an accessibility expert to outline all accessibility requirements. This is an ongoing process.- Following the last accessibility audit, 65 issues were fixed and OGCIO have since released updates to the core code of the site to improve accessibility.My Department's digital content manager ensures all content uploaded by the team meets all accessibility requirements set out by OGCIO in relation to this directive including plain language, text formatting, image descriptions/alt text. Our agencies have been made aware of their obligations under this directive and compliance is a matter for each individual organisation.
