A "discreet" introduction agency offering a service for minority groups including the disabled, gay people and non-nationals has opened in Kerry.
The service, Solo Personal Introductions, which also offers relationship and sex therapy counselling, has been established in a holistic centre in Killarney.
The founder, Ms Noelle Crosbie, said the agency was different in that it offered counselling and support, and eschewed traditional pub and nightclub meeting places.
Ms Crosbie, a single divorced woman, said her own experience taught her that the traditional meeting places no longer facilitated the needs of people seeking valid relationships.
She said the abuse of the vulnerable and the needy in the area of relationships was of particular concern.
The agency was particularly sensitive to older people, whose needs in the club and pub scene were overlooked, she said. The agency has no upper age limit.
It had built up a clientele through word of mouth and through recommendations from counsellors, she added.
She said the kind of support offered was becoming more and more necessary in relationships of all ages and groups.
The agency offers various packages, including group therapy sessions, priced from €175.