Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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29. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way his Department and public bodies and agencies under his remit are implementing Action 16 of the National Disability and Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 (details supplied). [38478/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to the promotion of accessibility and universal design principles and Action 15 of my Departments ICT Strategy 2020-2025 reaffirms this commitment. My Department aims to achieve AA standard under WCAG 2.1 guidelines when developing websites or online systems. As part of this commitment, it has begun the process of migrating website content to gov.ie. A review of all websites is ongoing and, where practicable, each website will be migrated to the .gov.ie platform. Where it is not possible to migrate a particular site to the .gov.ie platform it will be upgraded to meet the WCAG 2.1 guidelines. In addition, as part of my Departments ICT Strategy, existing online transactional systems will be redeveloped and some new online systems will be launched. Meeting the WCAG 2.1 guidelines will also be a key element of these projects. The Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach will be used. My Department encourages feedback from its customers and will work with individual visitors to resolve any issues should they have any difficulties accessing content or systems.

I have asked the Agencies under the remit of my Department to update me on the position in relation to their own accessibility compliance, and this information will be forwarded to the Deputy shortly.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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30. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way his Department and public bodies and agencies under his remit are implementing Action 32 of the National Disability and Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 (details supplied). [38507/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to inclusion, with equality of opportunity for all, regardless of disability, gender, civil or family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, race or membership of the Traveller Community.

In 2018 my Department established a Disability Consultative Committee (DCC), in line with the Government’s ‘National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-21’. The DCC's purpose is to provide a focus for disability inclusion in respect of the policy work, schemes and initiatives of the Department. Membership of the Group includes nominated representatives of disability groups along with Departmental officials and representatives from the Department’s Offices and Agencies. The DCC also reviews my Department’s actions under the 'Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with a Disability 2015-24'.

The DCC meet regularly, with an upcoming meeting on 23rd July, and also proactively engages with its membership through regular email correspondence on relevant matters.

My Department has two Access Officers who are specially assigned staff members responsible for coordinating assistance and guidance for people with disabilities. This helps them to access, to the widest possible extent, the full range of services that we provide, including how best to access our buildings, as well as the range of publications in alternate formats that we have available.

In support of staff who work in my Department, we promote disability inclusion through our Disability Liaison Officer who acts as a contact for staff with disabilities, to assist them, and to assist in the implementation of best Human Resource practices in line with equality legislation. This role also includes the organisation of work placements in my Department for people with disabilities, specifically for the Willing and Mentoring project. This project provides the opportunity for people with disabilities to gain experience in different workplaces through coaching and mentoring, as well as building the capacity of employers to integrate disability into the workplace.