Declan O’Dempsey giving evidence to equality parliamentary committee
Cloisters’ Declan O’Dempsey
Declan O’Dempsey has been called to give evidence about age discrimination to the Women and Equalities Committee’s Inquiry on 7th February 2024 as an expert practitioner in discrimination and equality law.
Drawing upon his extensive experience as leading counsel regularly chosen to represent high-profile discrimination cases, active member of the Bar Council’s Equality and Diversity Committee, contributory author to seminal publications on discrimination, and renowned speaker and trainer in anti-discrimination practices, the Inquiry into the rights of older people has asked him to reflect on what is required to ensure the elimination of age discrimination.
Declan will assist the Women and Equalities Committee in holding the Government to account on the adequacy of current age equality law and policy, championing a better legal framework including the machinery for transparency of Government on equality issues.
Tackling ageist stereotyping and discrimination which prevents older people from participating fully in society, of which 18.6% are aged 65 years or older in the UK, Declan’s expert witness engagement will cover employment law challenges such as access to jobs for those wishing to stay in work longer, public law issues like older people’s needs being sufficiently addressed when devising local and national policy, private service providers failing to consider the requirements of older people with age-related exemptions, the extent to which legislative reform is called for and whether a Commissioner would be beneficial, and digital exclusion of older people (see his article with Age UK in the Discrimination Law Association’s Briefings Vol 80 Briefing: 1063, November 2023).
To learn more, please visit the Women and Equalities Committee’s website and read about the Inquiry.
Update: A recording of the Inquiry on 7th February is now available to view on parliamentlive.tv. Watch Declan and fellow witnesses Dr Alysia Blackham and John Kirkpatrick speaking on age discrimination matters ranging from current laws to funding.
