Every few weeks somebody forwards me an email from an agency they've never dealt with, warning that their website breaks European law and a fine is coming unless they buy an audit this month. The law being waved around is real. The panic sold with it usually isn't. Here is what the European Accessibility Act says, who it covers in Ireland, and what a small business should do about it.
What the law is
The European Accessibility Act is Directive 2019/882. Ireland brought it into national law through S.I. 636/2023, and it applies to products and services placed on the market from 28 June 2025. So it has been live for over a year now, which is why the marketing emails have started.
It is not one regulator with one letterhead. The statutory instrument names six authorities depending on the product or service involved. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is the market surveillance authority for all covered products, and the compliance authority for e-books, dedicated software and e-commerce services.
| The European law | Directive 2019/882 |
| The Irish law | S.I. 636/2023 |
| Applies from | 28 June 2025 |
| Irish authorities involved | Six, depending on the service |
| CCPC covers | Products, e-books, e-commerce services |
| Technical standard | EN 301 549 |
Who is exempt, and who only thinks they are
The Act defines a microenterprise as a business employing fewer than 10 people, with an annual turnover not exceeding €2 million or a balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million. Most businesses I work with around Roscommon clear that easily.
What gets misread is the split between services and products. The CCPC's guidelines for microenterprises are direct: microenterprises providing services are outside the requirements. But the same guidance says all businesses, including microenterprises dealing with products, must apply the accessibility requirements as far as doing so does not fundamentally alter the product or place a disproportionate burden on the business.
What the emails claim
- Every Irish website must now be certified
- Inspectors are auditing small business sites
- You need to buy an overlay widget
- A fine is on its way to you
What the CCPC actually says
- Microenterprises providing services are outside the requirements
- The CCPC will take a proportionate approach to regulating it
- It sets out what to achieve, not what to buy
- Enforcement exists, aimed at real non-compliance
So if you're a typical local service business (a plumber, a solicitor, a physio, a café with a brochure site), the services obligations don't land on you today. That changes if you grow past ten staff, if you sell products the Act covers, or if what you run is an e-commerce service rather than an information site. The last one is worth a proper look if you take payments online.
What "accessible" actually means
The Act sets the outcome and lets you get there your own way. The reference standard for digital work is EN 301 549, built on four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. In plain English: can people take the content in, work the controls and follow what it says? And does it behave with the assistive technology they already use?
The CCPC lists three problems that come up again and again, none of which need a consultant:
- Interfaces that can't be handled with a keyboard, a barrier for anyone who cannot use a mouse or a touchscreen
- Complicated or unclear wording with no plain-language or easy-read version
- Information provided only as an inaccessible PDF, which screen readers often cannot deal with
Fixing those three on a small site is an afternoon, not a project. Tab through your own pages without touching the mouse and see whether you can reach the phone number, the contact form and the menu. Put opening hours and prices on the page as text rather than inside a PDF or a photo of a poster. Check that anything colour-coded also says what it means in words.
Why bother if you're exempt
Two reasons, neither of them legal. First, accessible sites are just better built. Proper headings, real text, sensible contrast and working keyboard navigation are the same things that make a site fast, readable on a phone in bad light and legible to search engines.
Second, it's arithmetic: older customers with failing eyesight are a growing share of the people trying to reach you, and a form they cannot complete is a job you never hear about.
Where that leaves you
The Act has been Irish law since June 2025, several authorities enforce it, and the CCPC has said it will regulate proportionately. If you're a microenterprise providing a service, the requirements don't apply to you, so ignore anyone trying to frighten you into a rushed purchase. If you sell products the Act covers or run an e-commerce service, sit down and read the CCPC guidance properly. Either way, do the keyboard and PDF checks above. They're cheap and quick, and every visitor benefits.
