More than 70% of Irish company websites are inaccessible for those with a disability

Under the European Accessibility Act, all websites, digital assets and applications of private sector bodies must be fully digitally accessible by June 2025. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Most of the websites of Ireland’s biggest companies are inaccessible to people with a disability, according to an annual report on digital accessibility.

Currently, 73% of the websites of Ireland’s top 100 companies are inaccessible, with an average of 38 accessibility issues per site.

This is according to a new report from Inclusion and Accessibility Labs (IA Labs), commissioned by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI).

Two schools in Cork were named in the top 10 and commended for their work in making their websites more user-friendly.

These were Scoil Mhuire on Sidney Place, and Mount Mercy College on Model Farm Road.

The Mater Private Cork was also listed among the top private hospitals in the country.

Inaccessible websites affect 600,000 people in Ireland who live with a disability.

The survey by AI Labs found 95% of the websites of education institutions such as universities, public and private secondary schools have inaccessible websites.

In addition, it found the websites of 17 of the country's top 20 public and private hospitals were inaccessible.

Just three of eight political parties audited have accessible websites — a marked improvement from 2021, when no political party passed the accessibility criteria.

Eighty per cent of real estate and housing associations websites are not disability friendly.

Under the European Accessibility Act, all websites, digital assets and applications of private sector bodies must be fully digitally accessible by June 2025.

Cape Clear’s blind goat herder Ed Harper welcomed the report.

'Very confusing'

He said: “The problem is that while a lot of websites actually look great, they can be very confusing to those of us who read them using a screen reader.

“For example, unless a hyperlink in a story on a website is described in English rather than just a string of code, it just comes up as a ‘link’ on a screen reader.

“Another problem is moving text, where text scrolls up on one section of a page.

“That again, looks great for full sighted people but it confuses a screen reader, which often just catches the start of the scrolled text or the end of it.

There are little nuances that can get lost and it is not rocket science to pay attention to this and make sure that pages are more accessible that way for blind people like me.”

He added: “It is partly because of how bad websites are that I tend to try and deal with people directly.

“OK, blind people are a minority in Ireland but we are a sizeable minority.”

National Council for the Blind of Ireland chief executive Kyran O’Mahoney said: "The findings of the Digital Accessibility Index 2023 demonstrate that, while tangible progress has been made, we still have a way to go towards becoming a fully inclusive society, where digital spaces are accessible to all.

“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.”