Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have researched this matter and discovered that under the law of contract in Irish common law which has not been updated or consolidated recently, a minor does not have full capacity to contract. I shall quote the antiquated language used in the law of contract in Irish common law. It states:

Where necessaries are sold and delivered to a minor he must pay a reasonable price for them. Necessaries in this section are defined as meaning “goods suitable to the condition in life of [a minor] ... and to his actual requirements at the time of the sale and delivery".

If this aspect of the law is left in place and not amended, it seems possible that a minor will have the capacity, at 13 years, to consent to the processing of his or her personal data but will not have the capacity to enter into the substantive contract in question on the grounds that it is not one for necessaries.