Ageism is now the most prevalent form of discrimination complained of by Irish adults, a survey to be published on Wednesday will reveal.
This first national equality survey, which was carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), finds more than 10 per cent of adults have experienced discrimination at work or accessing services.
It finds one in eight people - 382,000 people - aged 18 or over have experienced discrimination within the last two years.
Though a detailed breakdown of figures has not been released, it is known that the most common form of discrimination found will be ageism, followed by sexism and racism.
The finding on age discrimination is likely to come as some surprise to bodies such as the Equality Authority, which found discrimination on the grounds of race was the largest single cause of complaint made to it under the Equal Employment Act in 2004.
It was the second consecutive year that racism was the most common form of discrimination.
Almost a third of all cases taken by the Equality Authority last year related to allegations of serious exploitation of migrant workers.
This was followed by cases involving claims of discrimination on the grounds of gender, which accounted for almost one quarter of cases.
A spokesman for the Equality Authority said discrimination on the grounds of race and gender were generally not tolerated in the way ageism would appear to still be. However, age discrimination was being increasingly challenged, he continued.
Successful cases had been taken involving young men denied motor insurance on the grounds of their age, and involving pubs denying admittance to older people.
"The age category is picking up," he said.
"This is the first time a survey has been done like this, looking at people who were discriminated against but who may not have taken further action."
The issue of age discrimination would become more pertinent as the population aged. He said it would be necessary to explore the implications of the survey for equality legislation.
"These findings establish a context of significant levels of discrimination in employment and service provision," he said.
Niall Crowley, chief executive of the authority, and Gerry O'Hanlon, director of the CSO, will host a seminar on the issues raised, to mark the survey's publication on Wednesday at the authority's headquarters in Dublin.
