Vol. 547 No. 3
338 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the Disability Bill 2001 has been made available in accessible formats to people with sensory disabilities; if so, when it was made available; if not, when it will be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3551/02]
The Disability Bill 2001, published on 21 December 2001 is a positive action measure which will enhance and underpin the ability of people with disabilities to participate more fully in everyday life. My Department has arranged to provide the Bill in a range of accessible formats.
The Bill can be accessed on the Government's website in both pdf – portable document format – and rtf – revisable text format, both internationally recognised electronic data storage formats. Both formats may be viewed or printed using standard computers and software. The pdf format may be read by people with a visual impairment if they are using a modern version of the reader software and up to date screen reader technology. It has been available on the website since 21 December 2001. The rtf format may be used by people with a visual impairment who have the use of other computer and screen reading technology. This format was made available late last week in response to requests from users. The Bill is available in braille and a number of copies have been sent to people who sought the Bill in this format over the last two weeks. My Department has arranged for the National Council for the Blind in Ireland to produce an audio tape version of the Bill. This is currently available directly from the NCBI. The Bill is also available in rtf format on disk or by e-mail from my Department on request. In addition, a paper copy of the Bill is available for purchase from the Government Publications Sales Office.
