Vol. 554 No. 5
1353 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on whether insurance companies are in contravention of the Equal Status Act, 2000, which outlaws discrimination in the provision of goods and services and other opportunities for gender and age reasons, in view of the fact that insurance for male drivers can be several times that of a female of no more or less ability and age. [15875/02]
Direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of gender and age, in relation to the supply of goods and the provision of services generally available to the public, are prohibited by the Equal Status Act, 2000.
Section 5(2)(d) of the Equal Status Act provides that an insurance company is not discriminating if it provides different treatment in relation to annuities, pensions, insurance policies or any other matters related to the assessment of risk, where the treatment is effected by reference to actuarial or statistical data obtained from a source on which it is reasonable to rely or other relevant underwriting or commercial factors, and is reasonable having regard to the data or other relevant factors. The Act thus provides protection for individuals seeking insurance because a company will have to justify as reasonable any different treatment and demonstrate that it is based on reasonably reliable data or other relevant factors.
Under equality legislation, there are two independent bodies with statutory roles: the Equality Authority and the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations. The Equality Authority which has the role of working towards the elimination of discrimination, provides information and advice for any person who feels that he-she has been discriminated against on grounds of age or gender or one of the other grounds in the equality legislation, whether in an employment or non-employment area.
A person who claims that s-he has been discriminated against may seek redress by referring the case to the Director of Equality Investigations. The director has the power under the Equal Status Act to refer the case for mediation or to investigate and decide such a case. If the director finds in favour of the complainant, she may make an order for compensation for the effects of discrimination and/or order a specific course of action to be taken.
