THE NUMBER of people seeking an end to their marriages through judicial separation or divorce has fallen to its lowest level for a decade.
The Courts Service annual report for 2009 shows there were 5,398 applications for judicial separation, divorce or nullity last year, compared with 6,236 the previous year, a drop of almost 15 per cent.
Only the figure for nullity applications has remained relatively constant at 55.
The previous lowest figure was in 2004, when there were 5,667 applications, down from a high of 5,929 in 2002. Since 2004, the trend has shown a gradual increase in those seeking to end their marriages, until last year.
Legal sources have pointed to the difficulties in the property market as a reason why numbers seeking judicial separation and divorce – which normally involve the adjustment of property – have fallen. The cost of legal proceedings may also be a deterrent.
Further evidence of the impact of the recession on family law is the increase in the number of appeals to the High Court against Circuit Court decisions, which rose by 27 per cent last year.
The majority of applications for judicial separation came from wives (83 per cent in the High Court, 73 per cent in the Circuit Court). However, in the High Court, the majority seeking divorce were husbands, and in the Circuit Court wives only slightly outnumbered husbands in seeking divorces (54 to 46 per cent).
Applications for custody and access in the District Court showed a rise of 27 and 25 per cent respectively, of which the majority were granted. Only 36 of 957 applications for custody were refused, and 157 of 4,348 applications for access. There were 2,463 applications to the District Court from unmarried applicants for guardianship, of which 81 were refused.