Ireland's referendum to ease divorce restrictions wins overwhelming support of voters

Barry Ryan, Referendum Returning Officer, announced in Dublin Castle earlier in the day that 82.1 per cent of the voters voted "Yes" in last Friday's voting while being asked if the waiting period for a couple to file for a divorce should be shortened or not and whether or not the restrictions on the recognition of foreign divorce should be eased.

The people who voted against the changes to the current divorce laws accounted for 17.9 per cent, said Ryan.

Nearly 1.73 million people or 50.83 per cent of nearly 3.4 million registered voters in the country turned out in the voting, he said, adding that over 40,000 votes were regarded invalid.

Currently the Irish laws rule that a couple who wants a divorce has to live apart for four years before a divorce can be approved by a court and the local laws also place a lot of restrictions on the recognition of foreign divorce, a divorce conducted outside Ireland, making such divorces hard to be recognized.
In 1995 Ireland held a referendum and removed a ban on divorce in the country.

Following the results of Friday's referendum, the Irish legislature, namely the lower house of the parliament, will work out a set of new laws regarding divorce.
Before the new laws are put into effect, all the divorce cases have to be dealt with the exiting rules written in the country's constitution.

The Irish government has advocated for shortening the waiting time for divorces to two years from the current four years, but it will be up to the decision of the lower house of the parliament as how much such a waiting time should be shortened.