Ireland's divorce courts 'lagging behind'

Ireland's constitution on children's rights and family law is up for debate today.

Compared to other European countries our divorce laws are lagging behind, according to experts.

Dr Louise Crowley of UCC's School of Law says there are areas of family law that could be improved here.

"So many jurisdictions envisage a clean break.

"Certainly in England and Wales - they reformed their laws in 1984 so the court's first role in dividing assets is to do so in order to ensure a clean break wherever possible.

"The difficulty with Ireland is that it simply is not within our regulatory framework to allow a court to take that view even, interestingly, where that might be in the best interest of both parties," she said.