Ericsson says the programme is to correct an age structure that is unbalanced at the company and it is afraid it will miss out on a generation of workers in 10 years time. However, some quarters feel that this could be a form of bias towards older workers.

Ageism is quite common in Irish workplaces. According to the Equality Authority's Annual Report 2005, which was released this week, 45 of the 359 cases , , or one eighth of cases , , brought under the Employment Equality Act in 2005 were related to age.

In one instance, a public sector employer placed an advertisement for a position, stating that persons reaching 65 years of age prior to 1 August, 2004 would not be eligible for appointment.

Following correspondence from the Equality Authority, the employer re-advertised the position and the position was not confined to people under 65.

In another case, an employee claimed he was discriminated against by the Department of Health and Children on the age ground when he was unsuccessful in two competitions for promotion. He claimed the department operated a policy of non-promotion of officers aged over 50 years. The claimant was 54 at the time. The equality officer awarded 40,000 to the claimant in compensation for the consequences of discrimination.

Ageism awareness "We suspect that ageism is quite common in terms of recruitment policy. People are chosen on the basis of their age, " says Gerard Scully, spokesman for Age Action Ireland. "It's difficult to quantify, because it's illegal to do so, but we do get anecdotal evidence of people who are not chosen or called for interview.

We get calls in about people not being trained up or not being promoted once they reach a certain age. Once they get close to retirement there's a reluctance to choose people for promotion."

Ageism can also come from employees themselves who feel they won't be trained up because they are too old, and don't realise it is discrimination. "They accept it because it's employment culture and it has been for so long. It goes unchallenged and it goes unquestioned. That's the problem with ageism , , it's a form of discrimination where the victims aren't sensitive to the fact that they are being maltreated, " adds Scully.

"We would like to get people to think of ageism as a real problem, that it does actively prevent people from living as actively as they could. If you choose somebody on the basis of their age rather than their skills, that's a hidden cost too to society and the economy. A lot of skills are not being recognised, used and valued because the person who has the skills is not being recognised, " says Scully.

If you feel you are a victim of ageism, you can approach the Equality Authority. If the Equality Authority thinks you have a case, it will refer you to the Equality Tribunal. Your employer could be fined or they could be forced to train or promote you. "The problem is, at the moment there is a backlog of cases waiting to be heard, and by the time your case is heard, you could be retired, " says Scully.

Employers can no longer recruit staff in a certain age bracket. However, there are some exemptions where age criteria can be used, such as in the guards, defence forces and fire brigade. Saying someone needs five years of experience can be a hidden form of age discrimination, says Scully, who adds that younger people can also be victims of ageism.

However, employers and employees could be becoming more aware of ageism. A recent survey by recruitment agency Office Angels found that half of the employers surveyed said those over 50 were just as capable as those under 50 in mastering office technology. Politeness and timekeeping were also found to be an advantage in employing older workers.

"I think the whole area of managing diversity is so prevalent at the moment that employers are becoming much more conscious of it, " says Orlaith McHugh, programme co-ordinator at Carlow EQUAL Employment Programme.

"The current equality legislation exists to prevent discrimination and to promote equality in the workplace, " she explains. "Carlow EQUAL encourages employers to engage in pro-active equality-based employment practices towards older people. The programme also aims to address inequalities facing people over 40 years of age in availing of training and employment opportunities."