A new report has found that 73% of Ireland’s top 100 companies have websites which are inaccessible for people with disabilities.
The report commissioned by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) found that many sites are completely inaccessible for the estimated 600,000 people in Ireland with disabilities.
While accessibility adoption has been sluggish across a number of sectors, notably education, healthcare and housing, there has been some positive movement.
Some 27% of the top 100 Irish companies have taken steps to improve their website accessibility, despite not yet being legally obligated to do so.
Three schools in Galway were named in the top 10 and commended for their work in making their websites more accessible: Salerno Jesus and Mary Secondary School in Salthill, Colaiste na Coiribe in Knicknacarra, and Colaiste Iognaid SJ on Sea Road.
The Galway Clinic was also listed among the top private hospitals in the country.
The current legislative position means that under EU Web Accessibility Directive 2020, public sector websites are mandated to meet the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and ensure that they can be accessed by all users, regardless of ability.
More recently, however, this legislative mandate has been extended, under the European Accessibility Act, to businesses in the private sector so all websites, digital assets and applications of private sector bodies must be fully digitally accessible by June 2025.
Businesses based in Ireland have just eighteen months to ensure that their content is digitally accessible – or risk facing legal penalties.
Chief Executive Officer at IA Labs and Chief Technology Officer at the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, Kyran O’Mahoney said that while tangible progress has been made, there is still a long way to go to make a fully inclusive society.
“With the forthcoming European Accessibility Act, the clock is ticking for many businesses across Ireland, who must now work to ensure that their websites and mobile applications can be accessed by all users.”
Technology is the single greatest enabler for any person living with a disability; and for businesses, having a fully accessible website ensures that you can reach every single customer. Digital accessibility is a win-win.”
The report, created by Inclusion and Accessibility Labs, was launched by Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary.
“I welcome the publication of the Disability Accessibility Index as a means to help enterprise and the public sector alike identify where they can improve to make their information more accessible to people with a disability and help move us closer to achieving a more equal and inclusive society.”
Other key findings of the report include that 95% of education institutions have inaccessible websites, along with 17 of Ireland’s top 20 public and private hospital, and just three of eight political parties have accessible websites.
