The Equality Tribunal has ordered Ulster Bank to pay €2,000 to an elderly woman as compensation for age discrimination.
The tribunal has found that the bank's branch in Maynooth, Co Kildare, discriminated against the 70-year-old when it refused her application for a car loan because she was over the age of 65.
Niall Crowley, the chief executive of the Equality Authority, says the case highlights the manner in which age limits are often used to exclude older people from society.