that if the goods or services in question are provided to the minor "on unfavourable terms", then the contract may not be enforceable.86

Pursuant to section 3(3) of the Equal Status Act, treating a person who has not reached the age of 18 differently to another person does not amount to discrimination on the age ground.

L is therefore entitled to refuse to rent the premises to a T who has not reached the age of 18 without falling foul of the Equal Status Act.

Disability

Apart from minority, another reason why T may not have full capacity is by reason of disability. The general rule here is that a person of unsound mind has capacity to enter into a contract and will be bound by it unless the existence of the disability was known to the other party.87 In the event that the other party was not aware of the disability, there is early Irish authority to the effect that a “fair and bona fide” contract will not be set aside by the courts.88 Where a person of "unsound mind" is made a ward of court, and put under the care of a "committee", then only his "committee" is entitled to enter into a contract on his behalf.89

The Equal Status Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of disability (this concept is defined broadly in section 2(1) of the Act).

It should be noted that, to date, the Equality Tribunal has only considered one case concerning alleged discrimination in the specific context of access to housing.90 It is also worth noting that, in practice, a common reason for private landlords discriminating against tenants is the fact that a tenant's main source of income is a social welfare payment and/or the tenant is claiming rent supplement from the local

86McDermott, above, n. 83, at para. 17.12.

87McDermott, above, n. 83, at para. 17.44 citing Imperial Loan Co. v. Stone [1892] 1 QB 599.

88McDermott, above, n. 83 at para. 17.48, citing Hassard v. Smith (1872) IR 6 Eq

89See Wylie, J.C.W., Landlord and Tenant Law (2nd ed.) (Dublin: Butterworths, 1998) at para. 6.15.

90See above, n. 82.

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