The European Accessibility Act Is Now Irish Law Is Your Business Ready?
Since June 2025, Irish businesses are legally required to ensure their websites meet accessibility standards under the European Accessibility Act.
The European Accessibility Act came into effect in Ireland on 28 June 2025. It requires businesses to ensure their websites, apps and digital services are accessible to everyone including people with visual, auditory, physical, cognitive and neurological disabilities.
The penalties for non-compliance are significant. Irish businesses found to be in breach can face fines of up to €5,000 on summary conviction, and up to €60,000 on indictment with company directors and officers potentially held personally liable.
Beyond the legal risk, an inaccessible website excludes a significant portion of your potential customers. There are over 600,000 people living with a disability in Ireland and if your website doesn’t work for them, they’ll be quick to check out your competitors’.
The good news is that achieving compliance is straightforward with the right guidance and that’s exactly what we provide.
What Does an Accessible Website Actually Mean?
Web accessibility means ensuring that your website can be used by everyone, regardless of their ability or the assistive technology they use. This includes people who are blind or have low vision and use screen readers, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with motor impairments who navigate using a keyboard rather than a mouse, and people with cognitive or learning disabilities who need clear, well-structured content.
Accessibility standards are defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. The EAA requires compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA as a minimum standard. In practice, this covers things like colour contrast ratios, keyboard navigation, alternative text for images, accessible forms, proper heading structures, and compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technologies.
Helping Waterford Businesses Meet Their Accessibility Obligations
We’ve been building and improving websites for businesses across Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford and Tipperary for over 20 years. As the EAA came into force in June 2025, we’ve been working closely with local businesses to help them understand their obligations and take the practical steps needed to achieve compliance.
We approach accessibility with the same philosophy we bring to everything we do: practical, jargon-free advice, clear communication, and work that genuinely makes a difference. We’re not here to sell you a compliance checkbox. We’re here to help you build a website that works for everyone.
Accessibility Isn’t Just a Legal Requirement,It’s Good for Business
Does the European Accessibility Act Apply to Your Business?
The EAA applies to a broad range of Irish businesses. You are likely required to comply if your business provides any of the following:
- eCommerce websites and online shops
- Banking and financial services
- Transport booking services
- Telecommunications services
- Any digital product or service that consumers use as part of their daily lives.
Public sector bodies have been subject to web accessibility requirements since 2020 and face particularly stringent obligations.
Don’t Just Take Our Word for It
Here’s what our clients say about working with Whelan.
Website Accessibility Questions We Get Asked All the Time
The European Accessibility Act is EU legislation that requires businesses to make their digital products and services accessible to people with disabilities. It came into effect in Ireland on 28 June 2025. It applies to a wide range of businesses providing consumer-facing digital services — including eCommerce, banking, transport and telecommunications. Micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees and turnover under €2 million are currently exempt for services, though not for products. If you’re unsure whether it applies to your business, get in touch for a free assessment.
Most website redesigns take between four and eight weeks from brief to launch, depending on the size of the site and the availability of content and feedback. We’ll give you a detailed timeline upfront so you can plan your launch accordingly.
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — the international standard for web accessibility developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. The EAA requires compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA as a minimum. This covers a wide range of requirements including colour contrast, keyboard navigation, alternative text for images, accessible forms and screen reader compatibility. WCAG 2.2 — a more recent update — includes additional criteria, particularly around mobile navigation and cognitive accessibility, and is increasingly the standard to aim for.
An accessibility statement is a document published on your website that outlines your level of compliance with WCAG standards, identifies any known accessibility gaps, and provides contact details for users who need assistance or want to raise accessibility issues. It is a legal requirement for public sector bodies and is required for many private businesses under the EAA. We help our clients prepare compliant accessibility statements as part of our audit service.
Accessibility widgets and overlay tools are marketed as quick fixes for web accessibility but legal precedent has shown that they do not provide sufficient coverage to achieve EAA compliance, and their use does not protect businesses from enforcement action or litigation. Genuine accessibility compliance requires properly audited and remediated code, design and content.
The timeframe for an accessibility audit depends on the size and complexity of your website. A straightforward audit of a small business website typically takes one to two weeks. Larger or more complex sites will take longer. We’ll give you a clear timeline and quote before we begin.
We recommend a full accessibility audit at least once per year, and after any significant website update or redesign. New content and functionality can introduce new accessibility issues so ongoing monitoring between audits is also advisable.
Yes, many accessibility best practices align directly with what search engines reward. Proper heading structures, descriptive alt text for images, clear link text, logical page structure and fast loading speeds all contribute to both accessibility compliance and better search engine performance. An accessible website is almost always a more SEO-friendly website.
Whelan Web Design provides website accessibility audits and EAA compliance services for businesses across Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford and Tipperary. Based in Waterford City, we combine technical expertise with clear, practical guidance to help local businesses meet their accessibility obligations. Get in touch today for a free consultation.