Accessibility Statement

At the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), we recognise the importance of ensuring that our website is accessible to the widest possible range of visitors.

We are committed to achieving a minimum of  conformance level Double-A with the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and complying with the National Disability Authority IT Accessibility Guidelines.

Improving accessibility has been a priority in the redevelopment of the HSA website since 2007. Some legacy content - particularly documents - may not yet meet our accessibility targets, but we we intend to rectify this as resources permit.

If you encounter difficulties in accessing our site, please let us know.

Our website contains a number of features to enhance accessibility. Among them are:

• Link to skip to main content in the header of each page
• Valid HTML and cascading style sheets
• Descriptive Alt texts for images that convey information and null alt text for decorative images
• A number of pdf documents (Some of our forms require the latest download of Adobe Reader*)

*Be aware when downloading Adobe Reader that the installation process includes the option to download a trial version of a PC security application.  To install Adobe Reader without also installing the PC security application, make sure that you have unticked the relevant boxes.

 Please note that you can resize text using your browser:

• For Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, select Text size from the View menu
• Or hold the Control key and use the scroll wheel on your mouse
• If you are using another browser, please refer to your browser help to learn how to resize text

Our accessibility officer is Seán Walsh, who is based in our Dublin office. He can be contacted at sean_walsh@hsa.ie

ReachDeck

ReachDeck reads web pages aloud for people who find it difficult to read online. Reading large amounts of text on screen can be difficult for those with literacy and visual impairments.

People that this can help include those with literacy difficulties, dyslexia, mild visual impairments and those who have English as a second language. ReachDeck makes websites accessible to those who require online reading support. It works by reading web pages aloud in a human-sounding voice. The user simply hovers their mouse pointer over the text to hear it read aloud. ReachDeck features and options are accessed from an easy to use, floating toolbar. You can position this toolbar anywhere on your screen or hide from view, as you prefer.

What will ReachDeck do for me?

• Reads web pages aloud in a human-sounding voice (Includes websites, intranets, extranets, html, accessible Flash, alt tags)
• Reads secure web pages
• Reads PDF and Word documents in their original format
• Highlights each word as it is spoken to show you where you are on the page
• Magnifies text to your chosen font size and font style
• Translates word-for-word between English, French, German, Italian and Spanish
• Looks up accurate dictionary definitions
• Converts text to MP3
• Masks information on the screen to help you focus on a particular area

If you need any more help:

View the ReachDeck Intro video

Full product information including contact details available here.