The European Accessibility Act (EAA), transposed into Irish law as SI 636/2023, grants significant new rights to people with disabilities, who will benefit from more accessible products and services. These include:
- computers and operating systems;
- ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines;
- Smartphones;
- TV equipment related to digital television services;
- telephony services and related equipment.
This will take effect on 28 June 2025.
Electronic communications services (ECS) are essential for the full participation of people with disabilities in society, facilitating access to education, employment, healthcare, and emergency services. The EAA Regulations introduce new requirements on ECS providers, including:
- designing services in line with accessibility requirements and maintaining compliance;
- informing users about the accessibility of their products and services and compliance with EAA Regulations;
- ensuring their websites, mobile apps and support services used in the provision of the service comply with the accessibility requirements;
- providing Real Time Text (RTT) in addition to voice calls for person to person calls and calls to emergency services
ComReg is designated as a compliance authority and can enforce responsibilities under the EAA Regulations. ComReg can receive and address complaints and reports of non-compliance with requirements. The EAA Regulations also enable consumers to seek an order for compliance with a requirement from the Circuit Court. You can also contact us to make a complaint about service accessibility. We may ask for more information during our investigation and will inform you of the outcome. For more details, visit the Consumer Care section of our website.
RTT is a feature available on certain recent mobile devices which allows you to communicate with text during a phone call. RTT does not require any additional mobile accessories.
For further information, see the Information Notice on Obligations on Electronic Communications Service Providers in the European Accessibility Act.
