A Government-appointed group has been given three months to come up with proposals that could see prenuptial agreements become part of Irish law for the first time.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell will next week formally announce the appointment of senior counsel and family law expert, Inge Clissman, as chairwoman of a study group to report on the issue.
While prenuptial agreements feature increasingly in Irish marriages following the introduction of divorce in 1996, they are not legally enforceable. Recently, Mr McDowell described the present situation as unsatisfactory and said the problem would not go away.
He has asked the group to report to him by the end of March next year and to make recommendations for change as it considers necessary. The report and its recommendations will be published.
Mr McDowell told the Dáil in October that the issue requires close examination by the group. He said recognition of prenuptial agreements could help to resolve problems after a marriage breaks down.
He said he saw reasons why people would enter such agreements, and believed most people would see there was a middle ground between a public policy prohibiting them, and a situation where they must be the determinants of the outcome of marriage breakdown, regardless of circumstances.
The terms of reference of the study group are to report on the operation of the law since the introduction of divorce with respect to prenuptial agreements "taking into account constitutional requirements".
Last night, Fine Gael Senator Fergal Browne welcomed Ms Clissman's appointment. "It is important that the current legal status of prenuptials is clarified," he added.