The director of Knock Marriage Bureau in Co Mayo has claimed that dating agencies are exploiting young single people.
Father Michael Keane, whose bureau has brought 740 couples to the altar in 32 years, said yesterday that dating firms were only interested in making money.
"Some of the big dating agencies operating from Dublin charge up to £1,000. They are not interested in marriage one way or the other. It is simply a money-making exercise," he said, and compared the cost to Knock Bureau's "nominal" charge of £60 for an introduction.
He said the bureau's work had led to 20 marriages last year and 740 since 1968. There had been nearly 29,000 inquiries, and almost 13,000 couples had met.
The decline in marriage rates is reflected in the bureau figures, down from 27 a year a decade ago to 20 in recent years.
As the bureau is under the Archdiocese of Tuam's patronage, divorced or separated people are not allowed to use it. On a personal level, Father Keane feels this should be changed. "After all the Orthodox Church does allow second marriages," he argued.
The 32nd annual report of the bureau shows that Dublin, Limerick and Cork are the most lovelorn counties for men. Most inquiries from women to the bureau came from Dublin, Galway and Limerick.