David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 53: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he agrees with the Equality Authority that, following the findings of the recent report entitled Inequality and the Stereotyping of Young People, there is an urgent need to redefine the age ground under the Equal Status Acts to extend the provisions of the Acts on the age ground to people under 18, the equality legislation currently allows discrimination on the age ground in relation to young people under 18; his plans to amend existing equality legislation as suggested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9745/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I welcome the publication of this report which provides an important insight into the inequality and the stereotyping of young people today as perceived by the young people themselves. The report will be of interest to all groups who engage with young people.

I do not, however, agree with the Equality Authority that there is an urgent need to extend the provisions of the Equal Status Acts on the age ground to people under the age of 18. 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, for example, 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 and so on. 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 years of age cannot bring a claim of discrimination on the age ground. Equally, a person who is aged 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 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 regard 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.

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.

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. I would imagine that any code of practice for the press could also usefully address this point. The research makes the case that the media have a particular responsibility to take care in their portrayal of groups, such as young people, that have limited influence and power in society. Stereotyping is not something created by legislation and neither would legislation against it have any success in stopping it.