THERE HAS BEEN a decrease in the number of divorce applications in Ireland in 2017.

The latest Courts Service annual report, which gives an insight into the state of Irish marriages year-on-year, shows there has been a 4% decrease on 2016 figures, down from 4,179 in 2016 to 3,995 last year.

The number of couples applying for divorce had been on the rise since reaching their highest level in 2015 at 4,290 applications.

A total of 3,964 were taken in the Circuit Court – with the majority of these cases, 2,219 cases, taken by the wife.

There were 31 divorce applications in the High Court – the majority of which were taken by the husband (55%).

Of the total number of divorce cases before the courts last year, none were resolved out of court. One application for divorce was refused last year, compared to two the year previous.

While there has been a fall-off in the number of people getting divorced, there has also been a decrease in the number of people applying for a judicial separation, down from 1,353 in 2016 to 1,294 in 2017.

Last year, there was also a decrease in the number of annulments.

A nullity of marriage is legal declaration by the court which states that although two people went through a marriage ceremony, their marriage never actually existed in the eyes of the law.

There was 24 annulments last year compared to 33 in 2016. The majority of annulments were sought by the wife (13) while eleven were sought by the husband.