I presume the Deputy is referring to a recommendation in a report entitled "Inequality and the Stereotyping of Young People", published by the National Youth Council of Ireland and the Equality Authority.
I do not agree that there is an urgent need to extend the provisions of the Equal Status Acts on the age ground to people under eighteen. The reason for excluding under 18s from claiming discrimination on the age ground is that 18 is a standard cut-off for access to many services, e.g. it is the age of majority, the age at which contractual commitments are fully enforceable, the age for sale of drink, access to certain films etc. It would be impractical to extend the age ground to under 18s as this would necessitate the provision of an extraordinary number of exemptions within the legislation and would entail a revisiting of virtually every area of the Equal Status Act. It would also mean that, in principle, it would no longer be permissible to give any preference (such as a reduced price) to young people.
Under Section 3(3) of the Equal Status Act 2000 a person who is less than 18 cannot bring a claim of discrimination on the age ground. Equally, a person who is 18 or over cannot bring a claim of discrimination on the age ground which is based on a comparison with a person aged less than 18 (for example, an adult cannot seek children's fare on a bus).
I would emphasise, however, that the Act does apply to discrimination against under 18s based on the other eight grounds. It is, therefore, possible for a young person to bring a claim of discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, membership of the Traveller community etc. It is not correct to say that the Act excludes young people.
The Government has amended the Equal Status Act twice to make changes in the way it impacts on young people. It clarified the law in relation to the regulation of access to licensed premises by persons under 18 years of age and the conditions under which it is permissible to set an age limit for the purchase of liquor higher than 18 years. The Government also amended the Equal Status Act to apply it to discrimination on the age ground in the provision of motor vehicle insurance to drivers under 18 years of age.
The Government has shown that it is prepared to consider well founded proposals for changes to Equality Legislation. However a general application of the age ground to persons under 18 would not be practical or appropriate.