Age of Majority Act, 1985
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

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paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
“full age” shall be construed in accordance with section 2 ;
“statutory provision” means any provision of a statute (within the meaning of section 3 of the Interpretation Act, 1937 ) or of a statutory instrument (within the meaning aforesaid) made under a power or authority conferred by such statute.
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paragraphs: —(1) Where a person has not attained the age of twenty-one years prior to the commencement of this Act, he shall, subject to section 4 , attain full age—
(a) on such commencement if he has attained the age of eighteen years or is or has been married, or
(b) after such commencement when he attains the age of eighteen years or, in case he marries before attaining that age, upon his marriage.
(2) Subsection (1) applies for the purposes of any rule of law and, in the absence of a definition or of any indication of a contrary intention, for the construction of “age of majority”, “full age”, “infancy”, “infant”, “minor”, “minority” and of other cognate words and expressions in—
(a) any statutory provision passed or made before, on or after the commencement of this Act, and
(b) any deed, will, court order or other instrument (not being a statutory provision) made on or after such commencement.
(3) Where there is, in any statutory provision passed or made before the commencement of this Act, a reference to the age of twenty-one years, such provision shall, subject to subsection (4), be construed and have effect as if the reference therein were a reference to full age.
(4) (a) This section does not affect the construction of any reference to the age of twenty-one years, or of any word or expression to which subsection (2) relates, in any statutory provision to which this subsection applies.
(b) This subsection applies to—
(i) the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844,
(ii) the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1863 ,
(iii) the Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1870 ,
(iv) the Marriages Act, 1972 ,
(v) the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1976,
(vi) the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1984,
(vii) the Income Tax Acts and any other statutory provision dealing with the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax or other duty under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners,
(viii) any provision of the Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act, 1930 , the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964 , or the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 , that provides for payments to be made for maintenance or support of children up to the age of twenty-one years,
(ix) any statutory provision that provides for the payment of a pension or other allowance for children up to the age of twenty-one years, and
(x) any statutory provision relating to prisons, to Saint Patrick's Institution or to any other place for the custody of persons.
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paragraphs: —A person who is not of full age may be described as a minor instead of as an infant and, accordingly, in this Act “minor” means such a person.
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paragraphs: —(1) Subject to subsection (3), the time at which a person attains a particular age expressed in years shall, for the purposes of any rule of law or of any statutory provision, deed, will or other instrument, be the commencement of the relevant anniversary of the date of his birth.
(2) Subsection (1) applies only where the relevant anniversary falls on a date after that on which this Act comes into operation, and, in relation to any statutory provision, deed, will or other instrument, has effect subject to any provision therein.
(3) (a) The date on which a person attains the age of eighteen years shall, for the purposes of any statutory provision to which this subsection applies, be calculated in the same manner as it is calculated for the purpose of determining whether a person has the right to vote at an election for members of DÃ¡il Ãireann.
(b) This subsection applies to—
(i) the Electoral Acts, 1923 to 1983,
(ii) the Presidential Elections Acts, 1937 to 1973,
(iii) the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Acts, 1937 to 1973,
(iv) the Referendum Acts, 1942 to 1984,
(v) the Local Elections Acts, 1963 to 1974, and
(vi) the European Assembly Elections Acts, 1977 and 1984.
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paragraphs: —The Defence Act, 1954 , is hereby amended—
(a) by the addition in subsection (1) of section 76 of the following proviso:
“Provided that this section shall not apply to a person who is under the age of eighteen years and is or has been married at the time of attestation.”,
and
(b) by the deletion of subsection (2) of section 107.
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paragraphs: — Section 11 of the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964 , is hereby amended—
(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):
“(3) An order under this section may be made on the application of either parent notwithstanding that the parents are then residing together, but an order made under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) shall not be enforceable and no liability thereunder shall accrue while they reside together, and the order shall cease to have effect if for a period of three months after it is made they continue to reside together.”,
and
(b) by the addition of the following subsection:
“(5) Any reference to an infant in this section (except in paragraph (a) of subsection (2)) shall include a reference to a child who has attained the age of eighteen years and is suffering from mental or physical disability to such extent that it is not reasonably possible for him to maintain himself fully.”.
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paragraphs: —(1) The transitional provisions and savings contained in the Schedule shall have effect in relation to section 2 .
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paragraphs: —The following are hereby repealed:
(a) the Infant Settlements Act, 1855,
(b) the Infant Marriage Act, 1860,
(c) in section 6 of the Employers and Workmen Act, 1875 , the paragraph numbered (1.) and the last sentence, and
(d) section 13 (2) (d) of the Married Women's Status Act, 1957 .
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paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Age of Majority Act, 1985.
(2) This Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of March, 1985.