Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Neville for raising this important matter and for drawing the attention of the House to this report.

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform I welcome the publication of the report which provides an important insight into the inequality and the stereotyping of young people today as perceived by the young people themselves. This research involved a large number of children and young people who took part in the focus groups which formed one of the two main strands upon which the report was based — the other strand being the content analysis of media sources as they related to young people.

The Minister is of the view that this report will be of interest to all groups who engage with young people. One of the recommendations was addressed to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It asked the Department to review the provisions of the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2004 whereby the age ground applies only to people over 18. The Minister does not, however, agree that there is an urgent need to extend the provisions of the Equal Status Acts on the age ground to people under 18. The reason for excluding under-18s from claiming discrimination on the age ground is that 18 is a standard cut-off age for access to many services. It is the age of majority, the age at which contractual commitments are fully enforceable, the age for sale of drink, the age for 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 entail the 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 reduced prices, 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. The Minister is emphatic however, that the Act applies 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 or harassment based on the grounds of 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 already amended the Equal Status Act twice to make changes in the way it impacts on young people. It clarified the law as regards 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 higher than 18 years for the purchase of liquor. 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. It 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.

The role of protection of the rights and interests of children and young people under 18 resides with the Ombudsman for Children established under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 and not with the Equal Status Acts. The role of the Ombudsman for Children covers three main areas, the first being the promotion of children's rights, the second dealing with complaints and investigations and the third the carrying out of research and inquiries.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is of the opinion that a better approach would be the one already identified in the report, which is a focus on the role the media have to play in creating negative stereotyping and its recommendations in this regard to the National Union of Journalists and the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. The Minister imagines that any code of practice for the press could also usefully address this point.

The report makes the case that the media has a particular responsibility to take care in its portrayal of groups, such as young people, that have limited influence and power in society. However, stereotyping is not something created by legislation and neither would legislation against it have any success in stopping it.

A key Government strategy is the recent bringing together of the key personnel of the relevant sections in the Departments of Health and Children, Education and Science and Justice, Equality and Law Reform under the new Office of the Minister for Children. The aim is to focus on the harmonisation of policy issues as they affect children and young people. The Minister of State specifically represents young people's interests. This demonstrates the Government's commitment to understanding the importance of children and young people's contribution.

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