Almost a quarter of work-related discrimination complaints made to the Irish Equality Authority last year were on the basis of age, according to the authority’s 2007 annual report.

Complaints from older workers were the most common, outnumbering those from migrant workers, women, the disabled and all other categories under the Irish Employment Equalities Act.

The most common complaint from older workers concerned fixed retirement ages. Other complaints involved claims of discrimination in job interviews, hiring policies, promotions and pay.

Commenting on the survey, Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, said: “There’s a normality to age discrimination which is wrong. It’s a cultural thing. We determine someone’s ability purely on the basis of age.”