Vol. 537 No. 5
463 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if press reports (details supplied) that the EU has made divorce here more easily available are correct; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16512/01]
Section 5 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996, specifies that a court may, in exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by Article 41.3.2º of the Constitution, grant a decree of divorce in respect of a marriage where the court is satisfied that at the date of the institution of the proceedings, the spouses have lived apart from one another for a period of, or periods amounting to, at least four years during the previous five years; there is no reasonable prospect of a reconciliation between the spouses, and such provision as the court considers proper having regard to the circumstances exists or will be made for the spouses and any dependant members of the family.
An EC regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility for children of both spouses, which came into force in Ireland on 1 March of this year, does not affect the conditions outlined above, which must exist if a court in this jurisdiction is to grant a divorce decree. The EC regulation relates to the issue of the recognition and enforcement in one EU member state of divorces granted in other EU states.
The prior approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas was obtained in June 1999 in order that Ireland could participate in the adoption and application of the proposal for the EC regulation. The subsequent decision of the Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Council to adopt the regulation was taken on the basis of unanimity, not qualified majority voting as seems to be implied in the newspaper article to which the Deputy refers.
