Digital Business Ireland (DBI) has warned nearly half of Irish businesses are unaware of their responsibilities under new EU disability legisaltion.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) requirements come into force on June 28th, but DBI research found 49% of Irish businesses remain unaware of the requirements of the incoming act.
Nor do they believe they will be compliant by the fast-approaching deadline.
As part of the research, DBI also found that only 35% of businesses surveyed had begun to take steps to prepare for the EAA.
However, over 90% had no budget allocated for accessibility compliance.
The European Accessibility Act requires organisations to ensure the accessibility of their digital platforms to all people, including those with disabilities.
Businesses that fail to comply with the deadline will be subject to fines or legal issues.
In April, Digital Business Ireland published a guide developed in collaboration with web design specialists, New Graphic, to help Irish SMEs meet the new accessibility standards.
It has also actively promoted the new guide, as well as holding free webinars.
DP Fitzgerald, Digital Business Ireland National spokesperson, said: “Irish businesses have only 10 days left to comply with the new EU laws.
"Making digital platforms accessible is not just about compliance. It’s about inclusion.
"Everyone should be able to make use of digital resources and spaces, including those with disabilities.
"Additionally, accessible platforms have been shown to improve the user experience of a business for everyone, as well as expanding reach.”
“While Digital Business Ireland has been doing its part to educate Irish businesses, we are concerned that not enough has been done by Government to raise awareness and support businesses to comply.
“We are urging Government and the various state agencies to implement a concerted push over the next 10 days to raise awareness and to ensure grant funding, such as the under-utilised Grow Digital Voucher, is released to Irish businesses, particularly SME’s, to ensure compliance and achieve best practice in digital accessibility.”
