Government rejects EU proposals on divorce

The Government has rejected EU proposals to amend state laws governing divorce and legal separation.

The proposals would allow people from different EU member states living in the same state to opt for the divorce law which applies to them.

If applied in this State, EU nationals resident in Ireland would be able to obtain a divorce in Irish courts on substantially different and less onerous grounds than that provided for under the current legislation which insists on 4 years of legal separation.

The draft measures follow a 2005 EU Green paper on this subject and propose to amend the so-called Brussels II Regulation which sought to reconcile different divorce regimes across member states.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Michael McDowell said the Government has decided not to participate in the negotiation and implementation of new EU Commission proposals on divorce and legal separation.

Mr McDowell said the decision was in line with the State's response to the Green Paper when the Taoiseach made clear that the Government was not in favour of extending to Irish Courts jurisdiction to grant a divorce to an EU national based on a substantially different law of the state from where he/she came from.

If Ireland were to adopt and implement this measure, he said, "the present Constitutional requirement on Irish Courts in divorce proceedings to allow divorce only where proper provision is made for the parties involved and for dependent children would not apply" to EU national resident here.

Under EU Treaty provisions in the area of civil law, Ireland is excluded from the adoption of such measures unless it exercises an option to participate.

"In view of the concern that this measure would facilitate some couples in bypassing the special provisions introduced following the 1995 Constitutional amendment, the Government has decided not to exercise the option to participate in the adoption and implementation of this measure," Mr McDowell said.