Divorce up but many too poor to separate

DIVORCE in Limerick has risen by almost 14 percent, at a time when marital break-up is dropping in many other counties. But the latest available figures also reveal that many couples are too poor to separate. Instead they are, according to a family law practitioner in Limerick, making arrangements for one spouse to live in the attic or an outhouse, while the other lives in the family home. Figures obtained by the Limerick Post show the increase, compared to Cork, where divorce was down by 15.5% in the same period and Waterford where numbers of couples finally splitting up was down by a massive 50%.

Verena Tarpey, who works with the busy family law advice service at the Limerick Citizen’s Information Centre says the couples who go the court route are just the tip of the iceberg.
“More marriages are breaking down because of the economic recession,” she told the Limerick Post.
“A lot of couples can’t afford any kind of separation. They are making informal arrangements, with separate living quarters in the same house as they can’t afford separate accommodation”.
Couples are making use of converted attics and outhouses to cope with their break-ups, she said.
‘It’s a fact that some of the secondary results of economic recession can be alcohol abuse and domestic violence. We are certainly seeing couples whose relationships have been under such pressure because of unemployment or money problems that they are splitting up”.
The solicitor said that couples without money are increasingly dealing with the breakdown of their marriages through means other than the courts.
“It’s far more common in Limerick now for couples to seek a mediated separation rather than engaging solicitors and that is to be welcomed.
“It’s also a less expensive option and they draw up the agreement themselves. Judges are honouring these agreements when people get as far as court,” said Ms Tarpey