Updated 15:25

Cabinet has agreed that a referendum on divorce will be held in May.

Currently, people have to be separated for four years before they can get a divorce.

The referendum will take the reference to that out of the Constitution - allowing politicians to reduce the waiting time to two years.

The Government plans to hold the vote in May alongside the local and European elections.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said he's very pleased the Government approved the plans for the vote.

He said: "While I'm on record as not being a fan of referendums, our Constitution means that referendums are often necessary in order to allow Oireachtas deal with complex matters of social policy - this is one of these."

Minister Josepha Madigan explained that if the #referendum is passed “people seeking a divorce will be in a position to be able able to go straight to a divorce without having to go through a judicial separation in the first instance.” pic.twitter.com/sNjOSCac22

— MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) January 29, 2019

His Cabinet colleague Josepha Madigan - who initially brought forward a bill to reduce the time limits - said she believes the proposal will really help people in Ireland who experience marital breakdowns.

Explaining why they settled on two years rather than removing the limit altogether, she observed: "I felt one year was too quick - the breakdown of a marriage is like a grief for people, and they go through various different stages.

"Two years I felt was a reasonable time limit, within which time [people] can sort out their finances, their property, pension, accommodation... I think there is cross-party support for this in the main, and I hope it's something that will help people ultimately."

The constitutional restriction on divorce was removed following a referendum in 1995.

That vote was passed by a small margin of 50.28% to 49.72%.