The number of divorces granted in the Circuit Courts has risen to 2,800 annually, according to the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Mary Coughlan.
However, Ms Coughlan said, the figures only refer to people who are legally married and do not take into account the number of couples who are co-habiting, who have children and whose relationship has broken down.
Ms Coughlan was speaking this morning at the launch of the report Divorce in Ireland : Marital breakdown, answers and alternativesby Kieron Wood and Paul O'Shea, at which she announced the establishment of a new Family Support Agency.
The agency, she said, would have a €17 million budget, which would be used to offering counselling services and other support to couples who in the process of separation.
"I am committed to ensuring that counselling is in place to support families, and this support is being reinforced with the establishment of the Family Support Agency which will be responsible for an increased budget for the current year of over €17 million," MsCoughlan said.
"I believe that the Family Support Agency will be a key instrument of Government policy in developing the kind of response that is so necessary to families today."