Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason no action has been taken following the publication of the Report of the Study Group on Pre-Nuptial Agreements in April 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31470/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Study Group on Pre-Nuptial Agreements examined the operation of the law since the introduction of divorce in 1996 with respect to pre-nuptial agreements, having regard to the provisions in the Constitution on the protection of marriage and the requirement that proper provision be made for each party in divorce proceedings.

The Report of the Study Group recommended that provision be made in both the Family Law Act 1995 and Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 to provide only that the courts be required to have regard to existing pre-nuptial agreements when making ancillary relief orders in judicial separation and divorce proceedings. The Group in making this limited recommendation recognised that the court under our Constitution must on granting a decree of divorce be satisfied that proper provision is made for a spouse and children. The effect is that the court must be in a position to look at all the circumstances of a case not just circumstances, for example, that might arise on the basis of a legal separation or some other form of consensual agreement.

The report made recommendations on the formalities necessary for the proper making of pre-nuptial agreements so that parties making such agreements would be both fully informed and protected. The report also recommended the introduction of a statutory basis upon which a court may make financial provision for a surviving spouse who may be unfairly affected by the provisions of a pre-nuptial agreement on the death of the other spouse through changes in circumstances since the agreement was concluded, e.g. as a result of the passage of time or other intervening events.

These recommendations are being considered for inclusion in the Family Law Bill referred to in the Government Legislation Programme announced on 16 September 2009.