National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011 - 2016

• Providing information in an accessible manner when speaking to a person with ahearing impairment;• Providing disability awareness training to front line staff;• Providing appropriate assistance to people with disabilities to access information onthe range of services provided by the Department.E-Government11.12 E-Government is the term used to refer to the use of information and communicationtechnology to provide government services to citizens, businesses and other sectors ofgovernment. E-Government helps to make information easily available to service users andis convenient and cost effective. The Government of Ireland website, www.gov.ie providescomprehensive information on the Irish State and the range of services provided by theGovernment. In addition, all local authorities provide information regarding services on theirindividual websites and are committed to making the information available accessible to all,regardless of ability. Key features include the provision of larger text fonts and contrasts,optimal printing facilities and facilities such as Browsealoud, which reads web pages aloudfor people who have difficulty reading online. Local authorities monitor and continue toimprove the accessibility of their sites in line with good practice. Web accessibility is vital forpeople with disabilities as the internet has become a key resource for news and informationand has displaced some of the more traditional sources of information and interaction. It isrecognised that information technology has the potential to play an increasingly importantrole in terms of providing access to information and services for people with disabilities.Housing Advice Centres11.13 The 2007 housing policy statement contained a commitment to develop localauthority led housing advice centres to provide information on the range of supports andoptions available. These proposed centres would have a key role to play in providing peoplewith disabilities with relevant information and assisting them in identifying options andprogressing housing applications. Furthermore, to ensure a fully client-centred approach,these centres could develop referral protocols to enable people with disabilities to accessrelated support services. However, given the depletion of financial and local authorityresources, this option is not being actively pursued at present. The Department iscontinuing to explore the scope for the provision of such centres, where appropriate, in thecontext of the transformation programme and the broader objective of providing integratedservices at local level.11.14 A number of local authorities have developed and opened in-house advice centres,although it appears that the disability focus of the centres varies considerably. It would be140