The Gazette 1993

GAZETTE

B O O K

R E V I E W S

MWH DECEMBER 1993

This is not an easy task. The sources for the statistical information are scattered and even the Government White Paper on Marital Breakdown concedes that the figures may be understated. He also examines the research from the UK and US on the level of support awarded to dependent spouses and also refers to his previous study on the financial consequences of marital breakdown. It is clear from an examination of the evidence that the j consequences of divorce are the same as the consequences of marriage breakdown. All the studies show the low amounts of maintenance awarded A useful examination is also made of | the legal obligation to support. It should be noted that the obligation is j spousal and not just that of a husband. Sadly, this has not always been accepted by women whose financial circumstances are superior to those of their husbands. The 1976 maintenance legislation and the 1989 Judicial Separation Act focus on the discretionary nature of the relief, which has led to wide variations in J awards and makes it difficult for practitioners to advise their clients in advance with any certainty on what level of maintenance they may be ! required to pay. Such opportunities as have been presented to the higher courts to establish firm principles have not been used to do so. Perhaps the most interesting chapter is | the one on Social Welfare. With the | established difficulties in obtaining ! and enforcing realistic maintenance S awards, social welfare payments constitute the main source of income by the Courts and the high rate of default whether in the context of divorce or separation.

parents who qualify irrespective of the sex of the parent or the cause of the lone parenthood. Furthermore, the 1989 Social Welfare Act introduced a new concept of a 'liable relative' who may be pursued by the Department to refund or make a contribution to the overall cost to the exchequer of these payments. There continue to be anomalies in the system. Many of these were highlighted by the Commission on Social Welfare which reported in 1896. The report was published in advance of the referendum campaign but it stated that, if divorce were introduced, a more thorough review of income support for lone parents would be required. Sadly, the White Paper on Marital Breakdown says nothing on this point save that it will have to be reviewed but with no indication of the Govern- ment's thinking on this critical issue. Ireland, like the rest of the Western world, shares the phenomenon of changing family structures, marriage breakdown and the consequent poverty of lone parents. Although recent reforms in the law and social welfare code have assisted there has been no comprehensive review. Perhaps the debate on the introduction of divorce will provide the opportunity to funda- mentally reassess the situation. Peter Ward's book aims at a better informed debate for the next divorce referendum. His publication certainly assists this end and succinctly identifies the issues that must be addressed.

Divorce in Ireland Who Should Bear the Cost?

Py Peter Ward, Cork University Press, 1993, 72pp. IR£3.95, softback

"Divorce impoverishes women and children - Vote No". The first line of j Peter Ward's pamphlet on Divorce in I Ireland - Who should bear the Cost? j brings back vivid memories of the 1986 j referendum campaign when argument I and counter argument were proffered j by the pro and anti-divorce lobbies. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to hold another I referendum and it is commonly | believed that this will take place in the Spring or Autumn of 1994. The debate is therefore starting again. Although Peter Ward makes no secret of his view that the introduction of divorce is long overdue, this does not detract from his courageous attempt to look at this subject as objectively as possible and to provide us with information on the extent of marriage breakdown in this country and empirical evidence on how our statutory remedies work in practice. He also examines the international trends in child support. The theme of Peter Ward's booklet is that it is marriage breakdown and separ- ation that causes poverty for women and children post separation, and not divorce itself. Marriage breakdown is alive and well and thriving in Ireland and it defies logic to believe that the retention of the constitutional ban can somehow render us immune from the | deleterious financial consequences of this situation. In our peculiar way, we hide behind the ban on divorce and fail to address the problem of financial hardship as a result of marital break- down. We believe that, somehow, no divorce protects us.

Muriel Walls

Business Law

By A.J. King and J.S. Barlow, London, Blackstone Press Ltd., 1993, XI + 297pp, paperback, large format, £14.95 sterling.

for women and children. Some progress was made in 1990 in

eradicating the complex categories of reliefs available with the introduction of the Lone Parent Allowance which ! provides a single payment to all lone

It has been said that the experienced businessman knows that if he is going

Peter Ward tries to establish the extent of marriage breakdown in Ireland.

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