Vol. 407 No. 8
6 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Justice when he proposes to publish a Green or White Paper on marriage breakdown; whether he will invite submissions from interested parties; the number of submissions received to date and from whom; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
26 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Justice the number of applications for judicial separations which were made to the courts in 1990; the number granted; if the Government will consider introducing a constitutional amendment to remove the prohibition on divorce, having regard to the indications of public support for such a move; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
43 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice if he will outline in relation to the proposed Government White Paper on marriage breakdown (1) the Minister or Ministers responsible for preparing same, (2) when it is likely to be published, (3) if the Government have given any direction as to the issues to be covered in it and (4) if it is intended to contain Government policy decisions on these matters.
67 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Justice when a White Paper on marital breakdown will be published.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 26, 43 and 67 together.
In regard to the first part of Question No. 26, the figures available regarding cases under the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989, are for the period 19 October 1989 — on which date the Act came into operation — to the end of November 1990. In that period there were 762 applications for a decree of judicial separation and 225 decrees were granted.
With regard to the second part of Question No. 26 and to Questions Nos. 6, 43 and 67 the position, as already indicated by the Taoiseach, is that the Government have decided to carry out a comprehensive review of current developments in the area of marital breakdown and to publish a White Paper following the review. Work on the review is well advanced in my Department in consultation with other interested Departments and the White Paper will be published in the autumn.
When the White Paper is published I will be inviting all interested persons to make their views known on the Government's proposals. However, if people want to make submissions on any aspect of the matter before the White Paper is published, I will be happy to receive and consider them.
Will the Minister agree that this is a massive social problem and that the level of marital breakdown has increased to an alarming degree? When is it intended to bring forward the White Paper? When will we be in a position to make an input?
I share the Deputy's concern in relation to the scale of marital breakdown. The paper will be available in the autumn and I hope it will then be the subject of a wideranging public debate. If individuals wish to make submissions on any aspect of the matter before the paper is published, I will be happy to receive such submissions in writing and to consider them in the context of the publication of the paper.
In deciding upon the publication of the White Paper, do the Government accept that in view of the social crisis in relation to marital breakdown we need urgent reform of our law? Is this accepted in particular by the Fianna Fáil component of the Government? Do the Government accept the principle that urgent reform of the law is needed?
The White Paper will take a comprehensive approach to the matter of marital breakdown and all avenues of legal redress open to those whose marriages have broken down, including divorce.
Could the Minister indicate when legislation is likely to be introduced to deal with this problem? Will the House have an opportunity, perhaps in a special committee, to consider the proposals contained in the White Paper so that there could be all-party involvement in an attempt to achieve consensus rather than the débAcle we experienced last time?
I do not want to comment on what the Deputy refers to as the débAcle of the last time. There will be an ongoing debate on the contents of the White Paper. The question of a committee is a matter for the Whips.
Would the Minister favour it?
It is not a question of whether I favour it. It is a matter for the Whips to decide.
Given that we have divorce in all but name in our law and that there is an undoubted need for divorce legislation, would the Minister agree that there is no need for a White Paper or for this discussion? The Minister should be introducing legislation in this area at the earliest date rather than according to the timetable as outlined.
There is much more involved than just the question of divorce. The White Paper will deal with all aspects of marital breakdown and the way in which our legal system and social services can give improved support and protection to dependent family members. It will also deal with the avenues of legal redress open to those whose marriages have broken down and safeguards required to protect more vulnerable family members in these circumstances. It is not simply a matter of preparing for a divorce referendum. We say what was referred to as a debacle occurred when the type of simplistic approach was taken. It is a better course to go forward with preparation of a considered White Paper on which we can have a debate and proceed from there.
Could the Minister indicate the terms of reference for the preparation of this White Paper and the extent to which they differ from the terms of reference given to the Oireachtas Joint Committee which produced a very detailed paper on marital breakdown in 1985? Is this another case of kicking to touch to create a mirage of concern for the predicament of thousands of people whose marriages have collapsed? Perhaps the Minister would clarify the terms of reference and say who is preparing the White Paper.
The White Paper is being prepared by my Department under my guidance and with the assistance of input from other Departments of State. All the social and legal aspects of marriage breakdown are being looked at. It is the right and proper course to proceed in a careful and detailed way to avoid the pitfalls of previous approaches taken by other Administrations.
A dishonest campaign was conducted by Fianna Fáil, playing politics with the lives of the people.
The White Paper will be published in the autumn and will cover all avenues of legal redress open to those whose marriages have broken down, including the question of divorce.
I do not think I would agree with the Minister's views and we might well do a service by staying well away from the role played by various people in the eighties. In view of the fact that the Minister is undertaking a comprehensive review of the areas he has outlined in detail, have the Government arrived at a conclusion and are they starting out on this comprehensive review on the premise that because of the state of our laws in relation to marital breakdown we need to provide a legal facility for remarriage where there is irretrievable marriage breakdown?
The Government have set out on the road of preparing a White Paper, adopting a comprehensive approach to the whole question of marriage breakdown, not just one aspect but right across the board, encompassing the social, social welfare and housing aspects, all of which have effects on the children, right across the spectrum of those involved, who are victims of marriage breakdown. I can assure the Deputy that the Government's views will be well known when the White Paper is published in the autumn.
It is all waffle; they are kicking to touch.
Having listened to the kicking to touch on the part of the Minister, perhaps he could answer my previous supplementary question, that is whether he can give us a timetable for the introduction of the appropriate legislation dealing with all aspects of marriage breakdown?
As I have already indicated, the first step involved is the preparation of the White Paper which will be published in the autumn. The next step will involve a general public debate on the contents of that White Paper. Then whatever legislative steps are found to be necessary will be taken as a matter of urgency.
The Government are merely redoing the job done six years ago by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Marriage Breakdown, a job the Minister ran away from.
