Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
617. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection to detail the preparations being undertaken by her Department in advance of the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882); the guidance that is being issued by her Department to organisations and businesses in advance of the enactment of the directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39675/23]
View answerDirective (EU) 2019/882 (the European Accessibility Act (EAA)) will introduce harmonised rules on accessibility for certain products and services in the EU, including ecommerce products. The EAA compliments existing legislation governing accessibility for websites and applications of public sector bodies, including my Department.
Under S.I. No. 358/2020 - European Union (Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies) Regulations 2020 all public sector bodies are required to make their websites and mobile applications (apps) accessible and have a clear Accessibility Statement on their website.
My Department and the OGCIO gov.ie teams work closely with the National Disability Authority on an ongoing basis to maintain the baseline of accessibility on all our platforms. Gov.ie also has external accessibility auditors examining the gov.ie website at regular intervals throughout the year and amend the website based on their feedback.
My Department’s online application portals (mywelfare.ie and welfarepartners.ie) are designed to follow guidelines set out by the W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium). They currently comply with Level Double-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.
My Department recognises the central importance of accessibility in creating a more inclusive society and continues to work to ensure compliance with this regulation.
