Family Law

Legislation providing for the May referendum on divorce has been approved by the Dáil and is now set to be considered by the Seanad. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and Culture Minister Josepha Madigan, a solicitor who has pushed for divorce reform, have welcomed the passage of the Thirty-e

Proposals to amend the Constitution to remove the requirement for spouses to live apart for a minimum of four years out of the preceding five before they can be granted a divorce have been published. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan yesterday announced the Government's wording for the amendment of

The Oireachtas joint committee on justice and equality will produce a report on family law reform following the last of a series of meetings on the subject. The committee heard evidence this morning from Dr Geoffrey Shannon, special rapporteur on child protection; Kenneth Burns, UCC senior lecturer

Ms Justice Tara Burns has been appointed as chair of the referendum commission for this May's divorce referendum. The appointment paves the way for the referendum to take place on 24 May 2019, the same day as local and European elections.

Amnesty International has welcomed a report calling on the UK Government to legalise same-sex marriage in British Overseas Territories (OTs) as strengthening the case for legislation in Northern Ireland. The House of Commons foreign affairs committee has called for all OTs to legalise same-sex marri

The Irish family law system is "in crisis", lawyers have told the Oireachtas joint committee on justice and equality. The committee heard evidence this morning from representatives of the Law Society of Ireland, the Children's Rights Alliance, Rape Crisis Network Ireland and Dr Conor O'Mahony of Uni

Ministers must look at fertility laws, the President of the Family Divison Sir Andrew McFarlane has said, after hearing a case in which a transgender man gave birth. TT underwent NHS fertility treatment, becoming pregnant after completing a gender transition.

The House of Lords is set to debate proposals to legalise same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland later today. Conservative peer Lord Hayward has confirmed he plans to table an amendment to the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill during committee stage today.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has dismissed calls for the right not to testify against one's spouse to be extended to unmarried couples, including civil partners and cohabitating couples. The Court of Appeal ruled last month unmarried partners are not amenable to the non-compellability provision

Plans to hold a referendum this May to amend the constitutional provisions on divorce have been approved by the Government. Voters will be asked to amend article 41.3.2 of the Constitution to remove the minimum living apart period for spouses seeking a divorce, and replace article 41.3.3 with a prov

Dublin solicitor Keith Walsh, chair of the Law Society of Ireland's child and family law committee, writes for Irish Legal News on the government's announcement of a divorce referendum in May 2019. The confirmation by Ministers Flanagan and Madigan that the referendum to reduce the waiting time for

The latest tranche of case reports from the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) reveal that homelessness is leading to children being kept in care. The second volume of 2018 case reports, now available from the project's website, includes 38 cases from all parts of the State.

An Irish father-of-one who claimed that his estranged Scottish wife had unlawfully retained their daughter in Scotland after the child underwent emergency cancer treatment there has had an application for a court order for the toddler’s return to Ireland dismissed. A judge in the Court of Sess

Leading family lawyer Keith Walsh has welcomed an increase in security at Phoenix House following an incident late last year. Speaking to Irish Legal News, Mr Walsh said the increased security measures revealed today are "required for those very rare occasions when people's emotions get the better o