Accessible Information Policy
Introduction
The National Disability Strategy and the Disability Act 2005 have been established in an attempt to enable people with disabilities to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life of the community
Significant responsibility has been put on all public bodies to ensure that all the services being provided to the public are accessible to all, including the availability of accessible information for people with disabilities.
Legislation
Section 28 of the Disability Act 2005 states that:
1. Where a public body communicates with one or more persons, the head of the body shall ensure
(a) if the communication is an oral one and the person or persons aforesaid has a hearing impairment and so requests or
(b) if the communication is a written one and the person or persons aforesaid has a visual impairment and so request,
that, as far as practicable, the contents of the communication are communicated in a form that is accessible to the persons concerned.
2. Where a public body communicates in electronic form with one or more persons, the head of the body shall ensure, that as far as practicable, the contents of the communication are accessible to persons with a visual impairment to whom adaptive technology is available.
3. The head of a public body shall ensure, as far as practicable, that information published by the body, which contains information relevant to persons with intellectual disabilities, is in clear language that is easily understood by those persons.
Policy
Printed information in forms and leaflets is one of the important and useful methods of communicating information to the public. In many cases the method of communication used by organisations is inaccessible to certain members of the community, in particular people with disabilities.
The City of Galway VEC is committed to ensuring, where practicable and where funding permits, that all information available to the public is available in an accessible format, for example accessible HTML, Large Print, Easy-to–Read format, Braille, Audio-file and other formats, if requested.
All City of Galway VEC publications will be written in as jargon free a language as possible.
The City of Galway VEC will ensure that information will be provided in an accessible manner when speaking to a person with a hearing impairment. The majority of City of Galway VEC staff has undergone disability awareness training, in compliance with the National Disability Authority guidelines, to inform them on how do communicate with people with hearing impairments.
The City of Galway VEC will endeavor, at all times, to ensure that all possible assistance is given to people with disabilities to access information on services provided by the City of Galway VEC.
However, it is not realistic for all public documents to be readily available in all formats. Research is being done at present to identify what should be readily available and what should be available on request.
Examples of Accessible Formats that may be available:
- Large print version in English
- Audio version in English
- Braille
- Easy to read format
- Accessible format such as HTML and other electronic formats such as Plain Text.
In this policy we will ensure the following:
- All new documentation is completed in line with accessibility standards set out by the NDA. The NDA’S “First steps in producing accessible publication” will be used as a reference point.
- Avail of the expertise and the experience of organizations and agencies to ensure full accessibility in the conversion of documents to alternative format.
- Advertise the availability of information in accessible formats.
- Establish a procedure for requesting information in accessible formats.
- Ensure that all information and documents are available in a format that can be used in conjunction with adaptive technology.
Contact Details
The Disability Act, 2005 requires that a number of key public contact persons be made available within the City of Galway VEC for assistance for people with disabilities and queries relating to people with disabilities.
Orla O’Neill
Access & Disability Officer
City of Galway VEC
Island House
Cathedral Square
Galway
Telephone: (091) 549 402
Text: (087) 238 9283
Accessible Information Request Form (doc, 316 kbs)