People with Disabilities in Ireland
4th Floor Jervis House
Jervis Street
Dublin 1
Telephone: 01 87 21 74 4
Fax: 01 87 21 77 1
Email: info@pwdi.ie
The Chairperson of Donegal PwDI Network and National Board member, James McClean, has been appointed Chairperson of the Award Approvals Board for the National Disability Authority / Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform 'Excellence through Accessibility Award'.
The aim of the Award is to acknowledge those Government Departments and Agencies under their remit that have taken steps to make their services more accessible to people with disabilities.
The "Excellence through Accessibility" (EtA) scheme has been developed to establish best practice models in accessibility for public services to aspire to.
The Award seeks to promote and reward a clear focus on and commitment to continuous improvement in the accessibility of public services at all levels in participating organisations.
The NDA, in consultation with people with disabilities, has developed guidelines and criteria for the award scheme that takes account of three critical areas that are common to all organisations:
. Access to Quality Customer Services
. Access to the Built Environment
. Access to services delivered via Information and Communication Technology,/p>
The NDA has also developed an assessment tool that the EtA auditors will use when assessing an applicant organisation against these guidelines and criteria. All Departments and the Agencies under their remit are being encouraged to improve the accessibility of their services and to apply for the Award. Successful organisations will be awarded one of three levels:
. Committed through Accessibility
. Quality through Accessibility
. Excellence through Accessibility
Chairman, James McClean said he was delighted at the response to the awards and was looking forward to a large number of entries from Government Departments and their Agencies throughout the country.
"It is very encouraging that there is an increasing recognition among all providers of services which the public use, that removing barriers promotes equality and makes life easier and safer for everyone and that includes people with disabilities, older people and the young," he said.
"The last census indicated that 8.3% of the population had significant disabilities. Providing information and services in a user-friendly way that responds to the needs of people with disabilities will increase customer satisfaction with the Government Department or Agency. A Department or Agency that understands the diverse needs of its customers, including its customers with disabilities will provide a better quality of service to everyone. "
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