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| Divorce referendum: Ireland votes to liberalise laws | Divorce referendum: Ireland votes to liberalise laws |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| People in the Republic of Ireland have voted overwhelmingly in favour of liberalising divorce laws, in a referendum held on Saturday. | |
| The constitution currently states that spouses must be separated for four of the previous five years to divorce. | The constitution currently states that spouses must be separated for four of the previous five years to divorce. |
| But that clause will now be removed, allowing the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) to decide a new separation period before divorce is allowed. | But that clause will now be removed, allowing the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) to decide a new separation period before divorce is allowed. |
| Divorce was legalised in Ireland in 1995. | Divorce was legalised in Ireland in 1995. |
| The country voted in the 1995 referendum by a margin of just 50.3%. | The country voted in the 1995 referendum by a margin of just 50.3%. |
| In Friday's poll, with two of 31 constituencies still to declare, voters backed a change to the law by 82.1% to 17.9%, according to results tallied by Irish broadcaster RTE. | In Friday's poll, with two of 31 constituencies still to declare, voters backed a change to the law by 82.1% to 17.9%, according to results tallied by Irish broadcaster RTE. |
| Any change to the Irish constitution must be supported by a majority of voters in a referendum. | Any change to the Irish constitution must be supported by a majority of voters in a referendum. |
| Prior to the vote on divorce laws on Friday, the government indicated that it believed a two-year separation was long enough. | Prior to the vote on divorce laws on Friday, the government indicated that it believed a two-year separation was long enough. |
| Ireland has recently held constitutional referendums on other social issues - leading to the scrapping of the country's ban on abortion and the legalisation of same-sex marriage. | Ireland has recently held constitutional referendums on other social issues - leading to the scrapping of the country's ban on abortion and the legalisation of same-sex marriage. |
| The main political parties in Ireland all supported the liberalisation of divorce laws. Opposition to the vote came from Catholic pressure groups such as the Iona Institute. | The main political parties in Ireland all supported the liberalisation of divorce laws. Opposition to the vote came from Catholic pressure groups such as the Iona Institute. |
| The Iona Institute's director, David Quinn, said he had no particular objection to the four-year waiting time for divorce being reduced to two years, but did not want to see divorce laws removed from the constitution completely. | The Iona Institute's director, David Quinn, said he had no particular objection to the four-year waiting time for divorce being reduced to two years, but did not want to see divorce laws removed from the constitution completely. |
| According to Eurostat, the crude divorce rate in the Republic of Ireland is 0.6% a year for every 1,000 people compared with 1.9% for the UK and 3.2% for the US. | According to Eurostat, the crude divorce rate in the Republic of Ireland is 0.6% a year for every 1,000 people compared with 1.9% for the UK and 3.2% for the US. |