The Minister for Culture has said the Government should consider the complete removal of divorce from the constitution.
Minister Josepha Madigan coordinated the Government’s campaign for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment.
Speaking at the Law Society’s parchment ceremony for newly qualified solicitors yesterday, said “there is an appetite” for article 41.3.2 – which sets out the grounds for divorce – to be repealed in a similar way.
“There is an appetite for the complete removal of Art. 41.32 from the Constitution - and it is worthy of consideration” Speaking at #Parchment ceremony at @LawSocIreland on recent major constitutional & legal reform and my proposed changes to divorce law pic.twitter.com/6z4QvGEZ0d
— âš–ï¸Josepha Madigan (@josephamadigan) June 7, 2018
Should the article be removed, the Oireachtas would have the power to modify divorce legislation as it saw fit.
Minister Madigan said the idea is “certainly worthy of consideration.”
A referendum aimed at reducing the waiting time for a divorce from four years to two is already scheduled for summer 2019.
Minister Madigan put forward the proposal in a Private Members Motion – and believes the bill could be amended at report stage in order to initiate a referendum to completely remove divorce from the Constitution.
