A LEGAL loophole exists that allows couples getting married to avoid paying the €150 marriage-notification fee to the state.
Last
year, 21,541 couples got married, according to statistics from the
Central Statistics Office.
When a couple register their intention to
wed, they must pay the €150 marriage-notification fee, which netted over
€3m revenue for the state.
Couples must notify the local marriage
registrar three months before the ceremony and pay the fee.
However,
couples who wish to get married in less than 90 days can apply to the
courts to obtain an exemption from this requirement.
There has never
been an instance where a judge has refused a couple an exemption.
Those
granted an exemption do not have to pay the €150 fee.
Last year, just
under 3% of couples who registered to wed went to the courts and
obtained an exemption.
It is understood there are
concerns some couples go to the courts seeking the exemption not because
they need to get married in less than 90 days, but simply to avoid
paying the fee.
A slight amendment to the Civil Registration Act 2004
could allow couples to still obtain an exemption from waiting three
months to wed but stipulate the €150 marriage-notification fee still
applies.
It is understood that there have been instances
whereby couples obtain the court exemption but then have not got married
before the three-month period had passed, indicating that it was
obtained solely to avoid paying the fee.
SIC: ST/IE