Debate contribution: Age Discrimination (Goods, Facilities and Services) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mrs Ciara Ferguson on 20 October 2026.

MLA: Mrs Ciara Ferguson
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 20 October 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Age Discrimination (Goods, Facilities and Services) Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5798778

Text

I welcome today's debate and the opportunity to discuss this private Member's Bill and its intent to improve equality and prevent age-based discrimination against people accessing goods, services and facilities. I thank and commend Ms Claire Sugden for taking on such a substantial Bill. I know that she has been very dedicated, particularly on the all-party group on ageing and older people, in the work that she has been doing. Well done. Section 75 and other existing equality legislation already provide for protection from discrimination based on factors such as religion, race and sexual orientation. The Bill builds on that. While I would prefer to see such legislation delivered through a more comprehensive bill of rights, this is an important step forward. If enacted, the legislation can bring us up to speed with entitlements in the rest of Ireland, which already has legislation to protect people from discrimination based on age when accessing goods, services and facilities. It also brings us closer to fulfilling a United Nations convention that pertains to older people alongside that on the rights of the child. Article 23 of the revised European Social Charter encourages European member states to introduce measures to enable older people to remain full members of society without age-related ostracism and discrimination. The accompanying Council of Europe fact sheet also emphasises that its interpretation has significantly evolved through the work of the European Committee of Social Rights. That includes obligations to adopt comprehensive legislation to combat age discrimination beyond an employment context, including in access to goods, facilities and services alongside healthcare, education, insurance and banking services. The demographic shift across Ireland is also significant in the context of the debate. We are all getting older, and we have an ageing population across Ireland. In the North, the over-65 population is projected to overtake the number of children by next year. That changing age profile will, undoubtedly, inform longer-term planning and investment in public services. Regardless of the ongoing development of international protections or the shift in the shape of society at large, however, we have an obligation to act with urgency to address ageism and discrimination and to ensure that people of all ages can participate fully in society. It was disheartening to read Age NI's Lived Experience survey of 2023 and to discover that people continue to report that they feel sidelined, forgotten about, dismissed and no longer important. Likewise, a recent research report by the Commissioner for Older People found that 49% of older people surveyed — one in two older people — had experienced ageism. Participants gave examples of being subjected to ageist attitudes and behaviour across a range of sectors. We know that older people make a huge contribution to our society, in particular in the level of unpaid work that they often undertake for the well-being of families and communities, including caring, volunteering and preserving local heritage and knowledge. We also know that age discrimination issues relate to younger people in our society, and, undoubtedly, progress on lowering the voting age is one fundamental example of that. If people can work, pay taxes, donate blood and do so much else, there is no doubt that they should be granted political decision-making rights. None of those issues is abstract. The challenges that younger and older people face are very real, and today's debate gives us all an opportunity to reflect on those challenges and how legislation can help to address them. As I said at the outset, non-discrimination protections, including in relation to age discrimination, should be placed in a unified, single and comprehensive piece of legislation rather than by way of piecemeal amendments. Unfortunately, however, despite all the evidence and the engagement, regressive parties continue to block and oppose the delivery of a comprehensive bill of rights in our society. It is important that any legislation that is developed ultimately protects people of all ages from unfair treatment, reflects international human rights and best practice and encourages positive action to support age groups. While we are broadly supportive of the Bill, we have some concerns, which were previously outlined by my colleague, and we feel that the Bill will need to be improved and strengthened. For example, clause 9 stipulates that there will be a cut-off at the age of 16 in respect of protections. Sinn Féin supports the Bill in principle at Second Stage, and the Bill sponsor has indicated that she is open to looking at that cut-off stipulation. We believe that we should return to that at Committee Stage and look at how that cut-off could potentially be amended or removed in order to ensure that children and young people under the age of 16 are not discriminated against or excluded from protections that would reasonably apply to them.

797 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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