Age Law Reform
In Northern Ireland, there are currently no protections within equality law against age discrimination in accessing goods, services and facilities. This means that individuals who are unjustifiably discriminated against because of their age outside of employment and further/higher education, for example, when accessing healthcare, have no way to challenge this through anti-discrimination laws.
There is strong evidence that older people and children and young people face discrimination due to their age. For example:
At present, Northern Ireland law protects individuals from discrimination in services based on sex, disability, religion, race, and sexual orientation, but not age. We remain the only jurisdiction in the UK and Ireland where there is such a lack of legal protection against age discrimination.
Our recommendations for age law reform
We have consistently called for equality law to be strengthened to prohibit age discrimination by introducing Age-Goods, Facilities and Services legislation (age-GFS). Any legislation should reflect best international standards, taking account of best practice and lessons from Great Britain, Ireland and other jurisdictions.
Protections for all ages
People of all ages should be protected against age discrimination when accessing goods, facilities and services. This would align with the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and international best practice.
There are times where it is justifiable to treat people differently because of their age. Importantly, age-GFS legislation can allow for such different treatment, including through:
- A statutory authority exception: We recommend that age limits set by other legislation should continue to apply. This would apply to legislation from both before and after the date on which age-GFS legislation comes into force, and would allow for age restrictions on issues like purchasing alcohol and tobacco, gambling, marriage, criminal responsibility, and voting
- Justified age discrimination: We recommend that age-GFS legislation should include the potential to justify direct age discrimination where a social policy objective is being pursued and the measures adopted are proportionate. This could include, for example, youth training schemes, or addressing social isolation faced by particular age-groups. Indirect discrimination would also be justifiable, similar to other equality legislation
- Positive action: Service providers should be allowed to take proportionate action if it is aimed at; overcoming or reducing disadvantage; meeting the needs of a particular age group; or enabling or encouraging participation in activities where members of an age group are underrepresented
Addressing concerns about protecting children from age discrimination
When the proposals for age-GFS law reform matter were last debated in detail almost a decade ago, concerns were raised by some that the legislation would mean that the law might allow children to sue their parents, or that parental consent could be undermined.
We do not consider there are legally compelling reasons to exclude children from age-GFS legislation. Similar to other equality laws, the legislation can be drafted so that action can only be taken against service providers and others referred to in the law. As such, parents acting in a personal and private capacity could not be subject to litigation by their children. The legislation we propose would not undermine existing provisions in relation to parental consent, for example in accessing medical care, where this is a necessary safeguard.
Proposed Legislation
We welcome recent proposals for a Bill to address this significant gap in protections against age discrimination.
In March 2025, Claire Sugden MLA launched a consultation on her proposals to introduce legislation to address age discrimination in goods, facilities, and services.
Read our
full response to the consultation
Contact us
If you would like more information about our work on age law reform, please contact:
publicpolicy@equalityni.org