Malcolm Byrne
Question:4. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach how he ensures that all websites operated by his Department are accessible to the visually impaired. [4825/26]
View answerWednesday, 21 January 2026
Questions (4)
Written answers
The Department of the Taoiseach's website is part of gov.ie, a single online platform for all government departments.
Gov.ie’s infrastructure and technical environment is developed and managed by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). The OGCIO’s design system and implementation approach ensures that accessibility for visually impaired users is a core requirement in the design, development and operation of all websites under its remit.
Gov.ie is built and maintained in full compliance with Irish and EU accessibility legislation, including the EU Web Accessibility Directive and the Accessibility of Public Sector Bodies Regulations 2020. Gov.ie meets the WCAG 2.1 AA international accessibility standards, and work is underway to transition to WCAG 2.2 AA. An accessibility statement for gov.ie is available at www.gov.ie/en/accessibility/.
To support high-quality user experience for visually impaired users, the OGCIO applies accessibility best practice, including compatibility with screen readers, maintaining appropriate colour contrast, and ensuring that all gov.ie enabled services can be operated using keyboard-only navigation.
The COVID-19 Evaluation, which operates independently of the Department of the Taoiseach but is funded from the Department’s Vote, operates a website that is designed in accordance with the WC3 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The website achieved an accessibility score of 100% in the NDA Annual Monitoring Report 2025: EU Web Accessibility Directive. The COVID-19 Evaluation website accessibility statement is available at www.covid19evaluation.ie/accessibility/.
Question No. 5 answered with Question No. 1.