Divorce Rates in Ireland reach record high! Or do they?
Recent Divorce statistics from the Courts service prompted several headlines that Divorce rates in Ireland were reaching record-high numbers. Are these headlines justified or is there a story behind the statistics? What do the statistics of 2022 say about this perception?
On a bald level, the statistics say that the number of applications for Divorce in Ireland is the following:
| 2015: | 4,314 |
| 2016: | 4,179 |
| 2017: | 3,995 |
| 2018: | 3,888 |
| 2019: | 4,073 |
| 2020: | 5,226 |
| 2021: | 5,856 |
| 2022: | 5,551 |
This seems pretty categorical that there has been a massive hike in Divorce rates in this country since 2015. There were 1,542 more Divorces in 2021 than in 2015 which equates to approximately a 35% increase in divorce rates. So should we all be pontificating as to whether the influence of American culture has had a pervasive effect on our traditional catholic value system? Is the sanctity of marriage no longer the institution it was in our patents time? What next, Elvis-themed quickie marriages followed by even quicker divorces?
Steady on. The real story is that yes, Marital breakdown is increasing but not at such a dramatic rate. The reason for this is that a subtle change in the law has impacted the statistics. Essentially in 2020, the waiting time for a Divorce was reduced from 4 years to 2 years. Previously a person who could not wait these 4 years would obtain a judicial separation which is like a Divorce but doesn’t allow the Applicant to remarry. The effect of this reduced waiting time is that the number of people who use this procedure has dramatically declined. Previously, people would get a judicial separation, and then if they needed to remarry or just to have a sense of finality, apply for a divorce when they reached the threshold for a Divorce. This would entail 2 sets of Legal Costs. Understandably now when faced with the conundrum, a large number of people wait 2 years and go straight for a Divorce application.
So if I show the combined figures for Judicial separation and Divorce for the same period it reads:
| 2015: | 5,733 |
| 2016: | 5,532 |
| 2017: | 5,289 |
| 2018: | 5,157 |
| 2019: | 5,302 |
| 2020: | 5,902 |
| 2021: | 6,406 |
| 2022: | 6,037 |
Divorce Rates Have Only Increased 5%
As you can see, it appeared that marital breakdowns were declining from their peak in 2015 until 2020 and they have definitely increased again this year. However, the figures from 2022 suggest there is not a pattern of increased marital breakdown. This is evidenced by the fact that there is only a marginal 5% increase in marital breakdown from 2015 to 2022.
What was also noted by the report was that there was a 35% increase in the number of resolved cases. This shows the importance of contacting a Family Law Solicitor to help your case reach a satisfactory completion for all parties.
If you are considering going through a divorce and have questions, please click here to learn more about how our family law solicitors in Dublin can help you.
