Claire Sugden: My bill will bring equality for those facing age discrimination in Northern Ireland

You might reasonably expect the law to protect you from unfair treatment like this. Yet Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK and Ireland without general legislation prohibiting age discrimination in goods, facilities and services.

This week, my Age Discrimination (Goods, Facilities and Services) Bill passed its second stage in the Assembly, bringing us closer to addressing a gap in our equality legislation that has existed for far too long. For me, this legislation has been almost 12 years in the making.

When I was first elected in 2014, I spent considerable time meeting community groups across East Londonderry. I was particularly struck by the contribution older people's groups made.

It was through those conversations that I began hearing concerns about age discrimination and the absence of legal protection when people were treated unfairly.

Those discussions led to my involvement in establishing the Assembly's All-Party Group on Ageing and Older People.

The more I engaged with organisations working in this area, the clearer it became that this was a longstanding omission in our equality legislation. Unfortunately, it was also an issue that had already proved difficult to resolve.

In 2015, the then Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister consulted on proposals to introduce age discrimination protections for people aged 16 and over.

However, disagreements about whether the legislation should extend to younger children meant the proposals never progressed. The outcome was that nobody received the protections being proposed.

I have been conscious of that history throughout the development of my bill. It is why I have proposed introducing protection from age 16, with provision to review that threshold after three years.

I recognise there are legitimate arguments for extending protection further. However, I do not believe we should allow disagreement over the scope of the legislation to prevent meaningful progress once again.

Our population is ageing. At the same time, the way we access services is changing considerably. Banks are closing branches, services are moving online and people are increasingly expected to manage everything from appointments to finances digitally.

For many, that is convenient. But for an older person who is not confident using technology, or cannot access the internet, it can create real difficulties.

The issue is not that digital services are inherently discriminatory. It is whether decisions about how services are provided create unjustified disadvantages for people because of their age. Healthcare is another area where these questions are particularly important. While clinical decisions must always be based on medical evidence, nobody should be denied appropriate care simply because of assumptions about their age.

Similarly, in financial services, a person's age may be relevant when assessing certain risks. But blanket restrictions that take no account of individual circumstances should be capable of proper scrutiny.

My bill does not suggest that every age-based distinction is wrong.

What matters is whether those decisions can be justified. That is the principle at the heart of this legislation: people should not experience unfair treatment simply because of their age, and where they do, they should have a legal means of challenging it. Of course, legislation alone will not resolve the wider challenges facing older people.

We need to consider how our health and social care system responds to an ageing population, whether public transport meets people's needs, how we support independent living and whether essential services remain accessible. But those challenges make the case for stronger legal protections even more important.

There is something particularly fitting about the bill passing second stage during Positive Ageing Month. We rightly celebrate the contribution older people make to our communities, but that recognition must also be reflected in how we protect their rights.

Bringing this bill forward has been a substantial undertaking. With 50 clauses, nine parts and two schedules, it is the largest Private Member's Bill introduced during this Assembly mandate.

As an Independent MLA, without the resources of a political party behind me, developing legislation of this scale has required considerable work, research and engagement with organisations and individuals across Northern Ireland. I am also the only unionist MLA to have introduced a Private Member's Bill into the Assembly during this mandate.

I think that is worth highlighting, because while constitutional issues remain an important part of our politics, there are many issues affecting people's everyday lives that deserve just as much attention.

I am grateful to the many organisations that have advocated for these protections over the years, including Age NI, the Commissioner for Older People and the Equality Commission. Their expertise and continued engagement have been invaluable.

Passing second stage is only one part of the legislative process. There is detailed committee scrutiny ahead, and I welcome the opportunity to examine the bill's provisions and make improvements where necessary. But members have now supported the principle that unjustified age discrimination in goods, facilities and services should be prohibited.

When older people first raised this issue with me in 2014, they were not asking for special treatment.

They simply wanted to know why they did not have the same rights as people elsewhere. It was a reasonable question then, and it remains a reasonable question today.

After more than a decade of discussion, I hope we can finally provide an answer through legislation.

Claire Sugden is independent unionist MLA for East Londonderry