Kenny and Fitzgerald to support reduction in pre-divorce separation period

A private member’s bill to reduce the period of separation necessary to obtain a divorce has won the support of Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, The Irish Times reports.

Josepha Madigan, a Fine Gael TD and ex-solicitor, will next week bring forward a bill to reduce the period from four years to two years.

If passed, the changes would need to be approved by referendum, as the existing four-year waiting time is defined in the Constitution.

Ms Madigan, who used to practice family law, told The Irish Times that she had seen “first-hand the detrimental effect this four-year rule has had on separating couples”.

She added: “There are too many separated couples who cannot extricate themselves from each other within a reasonable time-period. This Bill is simple common sense.”