The Government is to be congratulated on its success in the divorce referendum and for authorising immediate legislative action to provide for the dissolution of failed marriages in this State. But there is. a considerable distance still to travel on this difficult and socially divisive road. The best estimate of the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Taylor, is that a citizen is unlikely to be in a position to secure a divorce until a year after the Bill becomes law. If that is the case, it may be towards the end of 1997 before some of the 80,000 separated people in this State will be free to enter into new marriages, recognised by the State. The length of this delay is unfortunate, following as it does a seven month interval between the November referendum and yesterday's Supreme Court decision.
The passage of the divorce referendum brings to an end a "liberal agenda" initiated by Labour Party politicians more than twenty years ago. It involved changes in the law on contraception, divorce and homosexuality. And, in the early 1980's, the issue of abortion added to the political rancour and divisions generated by social/moral issues. Successive governments sought to balance the fears of a conservative electorate with the needs of a rapidly changing Ireland. And they were successful in large part. The political chapter, headed: "liberal agenda", is now being closed.
The upshot of the Supreme Court judgement will not be, as Mr Taylor emphasised yesterday the introduction of "quickie divorce" to this State. The provisions in the Bill are stringent in the extreme. Special arrangements have to be made for the financial support of the children and spouses of failed marriages. A couple must be living apart for four of the previous five years before a divorce application can be made. And the Courts must be satisfied there is no reasonable prospect of a reconciliation.
The Coalition parties were justifiably delighted by the unanimous Supreme Court decision which struck down the challenge to the referendum initiated by Mr Des Hanafin. Mr John Bruton recalled he had campaigned for divorce in 1986 and had later committed himself to the introduction of divorce on becoming leader of Fine Gael. Mr Proinsias De Rossa said the Supreme Court judgement had cleared the way for the final step - the introduction of divorce legislation in the Dail. And Mr Ruairi Quinn said the success of the referendum would transform the social landscape.
The Divorce Bill will receive its Second Reading in the Dail in two weeks time. And while Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats are expected to table a number of amendments seeking to improve the quality of family support and counselling services, the general principle of the Bill has been accepted.
Anti divorce forces are understandably reluctant to conceed defeat by such a narrow electoral margin. And Mr Justice Rory O'Hanlon has spoken of campaigning in favour of holding another referendum. But there is no appetite for such a course of action amongst the political parties at Leinster House. And Mr Hanafin recognised this reality when he said he would lobby politicians to oppose the Divorce Bill. The objective was to do everything possible "to keep divorce out of the country". As of now, however, it would seem the anti divorce battle has been irretrievably lost.