Divorce in Ireland 20 years on: What has actually happened?
It is now 20 years since the referendum which enabled divorce legislation to be enacted in Ireland (in the form of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996) was passed. This event was regarded as momentous when it happened but its consequences have proved to be more limited than expected.
The legislation echoed that which had been introduced during the wave of reform in divorce in many countries of two to three decades earlier in that it provided for no-fault divorce and thus accepted that break-down of the relationship between spouses was sufficient grounds for divorce.
