CHRISTINE WHYTE,
Madam, - Further to your feature on equality of access to websites for people with disabilities (November 22nd), I would like to draw your attention to the IT Accessibility Guidelines, produced by the National Disability Authority earlier this year.
These guidelines, which are available on the website accessIT.nda.ie, provide a comprehensive, easy way of ensuring that electronically produced services and information are fully accessible and usable by the widest spectrum of people.
For each area - web, public access terminals (ATMs, vending machines etc.) telecoms and application software - the guidelines offer information on the difficulties faced by many users, prioritised actions required to ensure accessibility, guidance on implementation and checklists to assist evaluation.
These guidelines are relevant in the planning and procurement, design and development and testing phase of IT projects. They have been developed by the NDA in response to the Government commitment in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to make public services accessible to people with disabilities within five years.
The National Disability Authority's own website is currently undergoing redevelopment to provide greater depth of information and interaction possibilities to users. Its content will be interactive and community-based with discussion groups, straw polls, feedback forms and a calendar of events. - Yours, etc.,
CHRISTINE WHYTE, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, National Disability Authority, Dublin 4.