Top marriage official raises concerns over sham marriages

Mr Feely highlighted figures showing only 53 per cent of proposed marriages involving a non-Irish EU partner and a non-EU citizen proceeded as intended last year.

The General Register Office received 1,585 notices of intention to marry from such couples last year, but only 841 of the proposed marriages went ahead.

Mr Feely said: “While it would be wrong to characterise all marriages between EU and non-EU nationals as marriages of convenience, the relatively low rate of conversion of notices of intention to marry would suggest that marriages of convenience are a significant problem.”

His remarks come a week after a High Court judge called on the State to make “huge efforts” to prevent “bogus marriages”.

Mr Justice Richard Humphreys said the State should “prevent, root out, and revoke bogus marriages” after lifting an injunction preventing the deportation of an Algerian man who contested his deportation order on the basis of his marriage to a Hungarian woman.

Mr Feely has welcomed the introduction of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014, under which marriage registrars can investigate the veracity of a marriage application.

However, some legal professionals say the legislative changes will inevitably lead to racial profiling of would-be married couples.