The European Parliament has successfully passed new legislation that will give greater access to books for blind and visually impaired people. 

The new regulation will increase the number of books and other copyright materials available in accessible formats, such as braille, audio books and large print. 

Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes has welcomed the move, pointing out that, until now, visually impaired people only had access to fewer than five per cent of published works in the EU. 

“Everyone has a right to education, information and social participation.

"The rules up until now have been very unfair. Blind and visually impaired people have been excluded from reading books as they were not published in accessible formats due to copyright rules.

"The new rules voted by MEPs change that.

"Individuals and organisations can now make copies of works in accessible formats and distribute them across the EU without fear of breaking the law.

“There are approximately 30 million visually impaired people in the EU who will benefit significantly from this regulation change,” he concluded.