No surge in divorces despite legalisation

THE introduction of divorce here has not led to an explosion in cases coming before the courts, according to a major new report which outlines the changing face of Irish family structures.

In fact, evidence indicates that there has been no significant upward shift in marital breakdown as a result of the advent of divorce in 1997, nor has divorce taken over from formal and informal separation as the preferred means of legal resolution of marital breakdown.

Family Figures: Family Dynamics and Family Types in Ireland, 1986-2006 was published yesterday by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and indicates that childbearing is typically left until women enter their 30s and cohabitation is a more popular than marriage until people reach their late 20s.