Implementation of the European Accessibility Act one year on
Sunday, 28 June 2026 marked one year since the European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into effect. It was transposed into Irish law through Statutory Instrument No. 636 of 2023.
The EAA is a European Directive that contains accessibility requirements for a range of products and services.
What the Act covers
The products and services that were identified as the most important ones for disabled people include:
- computers and operating systems
- ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines
- smartphones
- TV equipment related to digital television services
- telephony services and related equipment
- access to audio-visual media services such as television broadcast and related consumer equipment
- services related to air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport
- banking services
- electronic communication services, other than transmission services used for the provision of machine-to-machine services.
- answering emergency communications to the single European emergency number ‘112’
- e-books
- e-commerce
For more detailed information on products and services covered and who monitors them visit our main EAA web page.
National Disability Authority's role and work
The NDA is responsible for advising the relevant market surveillance authority and compliance authorities on matters related to the accessibility requirements.
Over the past year we have been engaging with colleagues at these authorities. The aim of these sessions is to strengthen their understanding of the accessibility requirements of the Act and the upcoming standards which will support the EAA. The NDA contributes to the development of these standards.
We act as national representative on the committee on the European Accessibility Act established under Article 27 of the EAA.
We also engage with key stakeholders in Europe regarding the EAA and related issues.
Supporting guidance and resources
Guidance on procuring accessible ICT: In February 2026, a new technical report (TR) was published. The full name of this report is ‘Guidelines for public procurement of ICT products and services in the European Union: accessibility award criteria and conformity assessment’. This TR provides:
- guidance on how to determine contract award criteria to meet the accessibility requirements of the EAA and Directive (EU) 2016/2102 (Web Accessibility Directive, WAD).
- It also explains how to verify the conformance of publicly procured ICT products and services with these requirements.
The report is available at CEN/CENELEC/ETSI guidelines for procurers, (PDF), opens in a new window
- We also published reproductions of key parts of the legislation.
- Schedule 1 - accessibility requirements for products and services: an exact reproduction of Schedule 1 of Statutory Instrument (SI) No 636 of 2023.
- Annex 2 - examples of how to meet the requirements: a reproduction of Annex 2 of the Directive, which contains examples of how to meet the requirements in Schedule 1/Annex 1.
These versions may be easier to navigate for disabled people, including assistive technology users.
Visit our EAA overview page for more information on the EAA, including links to previous webinars.