Travellers and Membership Clubs

You can experience discrimination in four different ways.

Direct discrimination

Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of a different personal characteristic or circumstance that falls under the protected grounds.

Indirect discrimination

Where a policy or provision applying to everyone puts you at a disadvantage because of a personal characteristic or circumstance that falls under the protected grounds.

Discrimination by imputation

Where someone treats you less favourably than another person in a similar situation because they have incorrectly assumed (‘imputed’) that you fall under the protected grounds.

Discrimination by association

Where you are treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of your connection or relationship with someone who falls under the protected grounds.

Under Irish law, the protected grounds are:

Gender (male, female, transgender or nonbinary)

If someone treats you less favourably because you are a different gender to someone else.

Civil status (single, married, separated, divorced, widowed or in a civil partnership)

If someone treats you less favourably because you have a different civil status to someone else.

Family status (being pregnant, a parent, an acting parent of a child, or a carer of a person with a disability who requires continued care)

If someone treats you less favourably because you have a different family status to someone else. (Note: some situations falling under this ground may also fall under the gender ground.)

Sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual orientation)

If someone treats you less favourably because you have a different sexual orientation to someone else.

Age (only applies to people aged 18 years and over)

If someone treats you less favourably because you are older or younger than someone else and it is without a good reason (‘objective justification’). (Note: this ground does not cover alleged discrimination against children in schools.)

Religious belief (including religious background and those who have no belief)

If someone treats you less favourably because you have a different religion to someone else, or, for example, because you do not have a religion and someone else does.

Membership of the Traveller community

If someone treats you less favourably because you are a member of the Traveller community and someone else is not.

Race (skin colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin)

If someone treats you less favourably because you have a different skin colour, nationality or ethnicity to someone else.

Disability (intellectual, mental and/or physical disability)

If someone treats you less favourably because you have a disability and someone else has a different disability or does not have a disability.

Under the disability ground, please also see information on disability and reasonable accommodation.

If you are trying to access housing or accommodation, there is one extra protected ground:

Housing assistance (including housing assistance payment (HAP), rent supplement or another social welfare payment)

If someone treats you less favourably because you are receiving rent supplement, housing assistance payment (HAP) or another type of social welfare payment and someone else is not.

(for example - gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, nationality or ethnic or national origin, persons who are members of the Traveller community or persons who have no religious belief) and it refuses membership to other persons.

Example: It is not discrimination to have a club for LGBT people.

where it is not practicable for those outside the category to enjoy the benefit or privilege at the same time as members within the category. The clubs must make arrangements to offer the same or, a reasonably equivalent benefit or privilege to those members outside the category.

Example: A tennis club can have a men’s tournament, so long as it also has a women’s tournament.

access to which is not based on any protected ground.

Example: A club can offer a choice of full membership, off-peak membership, and so on.

by offering particular fee rates or, membership arrangements to persons of a particular gender, by reserving places on the management board etc. or takes other steps for the principal purpose of obtaining a more equal involvement in club matters of persons who are members of a particular category.

Example: Golf clubs which used to refuse women to become members can offer special rates to encourage them to join now.

to members of a particular gender, age, disability, nationality or national origin as regards sporting facilities or events.

Example: A club can have events just for children, or for people with disabilities. Apart from in the case of gender, the club does not have to balance the special event with another one, such as a tournament for older people.