MeAC – Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe

Legislation/regulations

The European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Universal Service and Users’ Rights) Regulations, 2003 are the regulations that transpose the EU Universal Service and Users’ Rights Directive in Ireland. The specific references to disabled people are:

• Public payphones – Article 5(1): A designated undertaking shall ensure that public pay telephones are provided to meet the reasonable needs of end-users in terms of the geographical coverage, the number of telephones, the accessibility of such telephones to disabled users and the quality of services.
• Specific measures for disabled users – Article 6(1): The Regulator may with the consent of the Minister, specify obligations applicable to designated undertakings, designated for the purpose of ensuring that disabled end-users can enjoy access to and affordability of publicly available telephone services, including access to emergency services, directory inquiry services and directories, equivalent to that enjoyed by other end-users. Article 6(2): The Regulator may specify the terms and conditions to be complied with by designated undertakings for the purpose of ensuring that disabled end-users can take advantage of the choice of undertakings and service providers available to the majority of end-users.

The regulations were amended in 2007, with a provision specifying the maximum penalty for an offence of the disability measure of €6,000 and allowing a defense that “reasonable steps were taken to comply with the relevant obligation…” (Statutory Instrument 374 of 2007).

The specific obligations are set out in the national regulator’s (ComReg’s) document ‘The Future Provision of Telephony Services Under Universal Service Obligations’ (ComReg, 12 July 2006). This document sets out the Universal Service regime that will remain in place until June 2010. The Universal Service Provider (Eircom) is required to provide:

For users who are hearing-impaired:

• inductive couplers
• amplifier phones
• visual / loud sound alert when the telephone rings

For users that are hearing and/or speech impaired:

• Text Relay Service
• rebate scheme for text telephone users to equalise call costs

For users with limited dexterity or mobility:

• push button phones with speed and automatic redial
• handsfree/loudspeaker phones

For users with restricted vision:

• restricted vision phones that allow numbers to be found easily
• Braille billing free of charge

For users unable to use the paper directory because of a disability:

• special directory enquiry arrangements to allow free usage of directory enquiry services

The Universal Service Provider is also required to:

• provide a dedicated section of its website, accessible from the homepage, with information on the services it provides which are of particular interest to people with disabilities
• maintain a Code of Practice concerning the provision of services for people with disabilities and to periodically review and, where appropriate, amend the Code in consultation with the National Disability Authority (NDA) and other representative bodies

It is also of interest that the regulator was of the view that the measures for disabled users “involve relatively minor levels of cost. In terms of the benefits they bring to disabled users, allowing access to communication services that would otherwise be very difficult to obtain, it would seem clear to ComReg that any regulatory costs (which if found to represent an unfair burden would be met by industry as a whole) are justified by the benefits.”

Other initiatives

The Ministry responsible for telecommunications (Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources) has been supportive of measures to ensure accessibility for disabled persons at both EU and national levels.

Under the Disability Act, 2005, the Department is required to prepare a Sectoral Plan setting out its activities for people with disabilities. The Department’s Sectoral Plan contains a number of commitments to improve telecommunications services for people with disabilities, including a commitment that ComReg would encourage voluntary initiatives by telecommunications service providers and would consult with stakeholders. On foot of this commitment, ComReg established the Industry Forum which includes representatives of telecommunications companies, the disability sector and the NDA. In 2007, as a result of work within the Forum, ComReg and the NDA jointly published a guide to telephone services for people with disabilities and older people.

In addition, a number of other fixed and mobile operators provide some services targeted towards disabled users, such as making available handsets with accessibility features and Braille billing.

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