Keith Walsh

There were 53 divorce cases initiated in the High Court and 5,498 in the Circuit Court in 2022, the Irish Independent reports — a five per cent overall decrease, but still the second-highest total on record.

There was also a decrease in judicial separation applications, with 486 across the High and Circuit Courts, down from 550 in 2021.

Family lawyer Keith Walsh told Irish Legal News: “On the ground we are getting considerably more enquiries from cases that qualify for the High Court in 2022 and 2023 than in previous years.

“The boost in the number of regular divorces since the change in the law in 2020 which reduced the waiting time for divorce from four to two years has levelled out and we are seeing a steady flow of these cases. There has been a related decline in applications for judicial separation in recent years as divorce has become more accessible.

“The real change in the numbers from 2021 to 2022 has been the increase in the High Court numbers applying for divorce and these cases are very closely related to economic conditions as numbers plummeted during the economic crash and took some time to recover.”

He added: “While numbers for divorces continue to rise, there is no news of any progress on the Hammond Lane family justice complex in Dublin.”