Two young men were awarded £1,000 each against the Russell Court Hotel by the Office of Equality Investigations for discrimination suffered by them on age grounds.
In the first successful age-related complaint taken to the Director of Equality Investigations, it was found that the hotel had refused them admission to a function in its nightclub on New Year's Eve last year on the basis that they were under 18, despite the fact that they produced ID showing they were over that age.
Mr Greg Scanlon and Mr Kevin Ryan, both students aged over 18, had bought tickets in advance for the function, along with a group of about 20 friends. When they arrived they were told "there were too many young people inside already" and they were offered refunds. They produced passports to prove their age, but the group was not allowed in.
The hotel had said in its response that some of the complainants' group were unable to produce valid proof of age. Mr Scanlon said in evidence they were not given an opportunity to produce it.
The equality officer who decided the case made clear in his decision that the hotel was fully entitled to make any checks on age it thought necessary for the purpose of ensuring that people under 18 were not sold alcohol. However, in this case he concluded that this was not the real reason for the actions of the hotel. He awarded the complainants £1,000 each.