Aer Lingus lobbied the Department of Justice last year to retain its seniority arrangements at the company when the Government was preparing the Employment Equality Act, the airline confirmed yesterday.
The airline denied that it wanted to be exempt from provisions protecting staff from unfair age discrimination.
It also denied that it planned to select staff members for redundancy solely based on age grounds.
In June, the airline wrote to the department, questioning where practices at the company could be challenged on new age discrimination grounds.
"An amendment to the Equality Bill 2004 was sought to protect and underpin existing collective agreements with the unions that provide for seniority of staff in Aer Lingus," it said.
The airline said in a range of areas, seniority was a long established practice at Aer Lingus.
"Seniority is relevant on a day-to-day basis in Aer Lingus where it determines such matters as rosters, annual leave, part-time arrangements and career progression," said a statement.
The department replied that age could be used in certain decisions by companies, but only if was done through a formal collective agreement with staff.
