James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator McGreehan for raising the very important issue of digital accessibility. The Senator worked very hard in this area before her term in the Seanad. She has continued that work as a Senator, as well as privately.

The promotion of accessibility in all facets of life, including online, is important to ensure people with disabilities can fully participate in our society. Under the European Union regulations 2020, all public sector bodies are required to make their websites and mobile applications accessible for people with disabilities. The office of the Government's chief information officer, in developing the State’s website Gov.ie, has worked to ensure that the content on the site is accessible and is developed to be accessible to those with a reading age of 14. However, these regulations do not yet exist for private businesses as the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is currently working to transpose the EU directive, known as the European Accessibility Act, into Irish law. As the regulations which will be put in place in Ireland are developed and decisions are made around the specific standards which enterprises will be expected to meet, any necessary supports that are needed to help enterprises adapt to these changes will be considered and put in place.

To support the promotion of web accessibility, guidelines and technical standards have been developed. The National Disability Authority, NDA, has produced extensive guidance and codes of practice around accessibility. The National Adult Literacy Agency, NALA, also has guidance on the use of plain English which is also important in making material accessible online.

Under Ireland’s national digital strategy, Harnessing Digital, the Government has committed to ensuring that it better serves those cohorts who are not in a position to engage online through a clear plan involving focused supports, including skills and infrastructure, and assisted digital facilities safeguarded through appropriate consents and protocols. The Government is also developing a digital inclusion roadmap which is aimed at ensuring greater coordination and cohesion across the digital agenda. There is already a lot of work being done across government to achieve digital inclusion through better skills, access and infrastructure and it is intended that the roadmap will bring this work together in a coherent manner.