A LEADING barrister has warned that the number of non-marital unions will continue to rise unless the divorce and separation legislation is modified.
Mr Charles Lysaght, who served on the Law Reform Commission, has criticised the legislation for not properly tackling the issue of income and property claims by marriage partners on one another in the light of the fact that marriage was no longer a lifetime commitment.
Mr Lysaght was writing in the annual review of the Women's Political Association, Values and Participation, which was published yesterday.
In the article Mr Lysaght questions whether a spouse should have any obligation to his/her partner other than to pay compensation for "unpaid work done or earning opportunities forgone to look after the other spouse, family and home" when a marriage can now be renounced by one partner without evidence of misbehaviour by the other.
At the moment one spouse can have a claim on the property or income of another after separation or divorce over and above these considerations, Mr Lysaght writes.
He also raises the question of whether compensation to a person for looking after another, or the children of another, should be a part of the law of succession in all relationships, including non-marital unions.
"They arise most typically when children care for aged parents, but may also arise where brothers and sisters live in one household."
This could be part of an overall review of the law of family property necessitated by the changed, nature of family relationships, including divorce, he writes.
Women should not only be involved in politics, but also in other decision-making roles, the leader of the Progressive Democrats, Ms Mary Harney, said at the event.
"We still have no woman county manager," she said. "There are no women newspaper, editors, or semi-state chief executives. As we move towards a new century, the message must be sent out that all these are achievable goals for women."
Eight days after the introduction of divorce into general use through the circuit courts, solicitors are still having difficulties processing divorce actions on behalf of their clients.
One solicitor who contacted The Irish Times said clerical staff in the Circuit Court offices are not accepting papers because of a dispute over resources. She was referred to the county registrar when she attempted to lodge papers.
Last week clerical staff were objecting to the introduction of divorce without any training for them or any additional staff to help with the extra work that, would be generated.
However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said yesterday that divorce papers were being accepted, and there was no dispute.