Minister Burton and Paul Kenny praise our Plain English Mark

The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD, today (27 May 2013) officially launched the 2012 Annual Report of the Pensions Ombudsman and a new booklet developed by the Pensions Ombudsman on Dispute Resolutions. Both Minister Burton and Paul Kenny, Pensions Ombudsman, praised our Plain English Mark. Minister Burton, said that having the Mark made documents 'straightforward and easy to understand.' Paul Kenny commented on the value of using plain English and the Mark in making information easy for more people to understand. You can read the Pensions Ombudsman 2012 report.

Congratulations to the winners and finalists in the Crystal Clear Award Winners

The Crystal Clear Health Literacy Awards were held on Monday 13 May in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. The National Poisons Information Centre at Beaumont Hospital was amongst the winners for their project, 'Say NO to poison!' Four other organisations were also recognised for their efforts to communicate health information more clearly. Commenting on the awards, Inez Bailey, Director of the National Adult Literacy Agency, said, 'The initiatives that have been recognised here today show what can be accomplished when clear communication is used in healthcare'. This is very important as recent findings show that almost 40% of the Irish public have difficulty with health literacy issues. This includes reading health information documents. A number of the entrants and finalists have achieved NALA's Plain English Mark. Congratulations to all! For more information, click here.

NALA's response to the Consultation on the Regulation of Small Print in Consumer Contracts paper

Earlier this year, we promised to upload our response to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation's consultation paper on the regulation of small print in consumer contracts (February 2013). Here it is. Before you read it you will remember that the consultation paper outlines laws and rules on small print and other presentation matters in Ireland and elsewhere. NALA is mentioned on pages 9 and 14. It also sets out options for the future statutory regulation of small print and seeks views on these options.