§ Lord HYLTONasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many persons normally resident or until recently domiciled in the Republic of Ireland have been granted divorces by courts in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and whether the absence of facilities for divorce in the Republic of Ireland tends to increase the pressure on British courts.
The LORD CHANCELLORI regret that it is not possible to provide the noble Lord with the information he seeks on the basis of the available statistics. I have no reason to believe that a significant increase on the pressure on British courts is caused by the absence of facilities for divorce in the Irish Republic, since the1510WA jurisdiction of the British courts (and of those in Northern Ireland) depends either on domicile in the relevant law district which cannot be obtained for the mere purpose of divorce, or on habitual residence for a whole year prior to the commencement of proceedings, which if undertaken wholly or mainly for the purpose of divorce is highly inconvenient.