Last year, 3,274 divorces went through the courts, up 25pc on 2014. Stock picture

A recent increase in divorce figures has been attributed to people having more cash and securing their finances since the recession.

Last year, 3,274 divorces went through the courts, up 25pc on 2014. This is in line with last year's figures and experts say it is an indication people have more financial ''wriggle-room'' to end an unhappy marriage.

Economist Jim Power said there is a direct correlation between divorces and the country's economic performance because of the costs involved in ending a marriage.

"People are able to afford a divorce now," said Mr Power.

"There was stagnation in divorce rates when the economy crashed and there was a financial reason. People couldn't afford to move out and get another property. It was definitely due to the recession."

Figures compiled by the Court Service and Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the number of divorce orders granted in recent years has increased since the recession ended. Mr Power predicts this upward trend will continue and more couples will opt for dissolution of marriage as the economy recovers.

Irish divorce figures peaked towards the end of the Celtic Tiger period. In 2007, there were a record 3,684 divorces approved by the courts. These figures decreased steadily in the following years as the economy struggled. By 2014, it had plummeted by 28pc to 2,638. However, these numbers have increased since.

"With the economy picking up, you will slowly see a pick-up in the number of divorces annually. What you will also see in the trend is that it is occurring most from the middle class up," said Mr Power.

"As long as the economy continues to expand, and the consensus at the moment is that it will continue to expand, you will see the number of divorces will pick up."

This view is shared by Dr Rosemary Crosse of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway.

New figures from the CSO last week showed an annual economic growth of 10.5pc in GDP for the third quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2016.

Dr Crosse said separating costs can be prohibitive during an economic downturn and many families look to steady their finances before a separation or a divorce.

"The evidence would suggest people are in a better financial situation now because you are trying to run two households (after a separation or divorce).

"Couples in a situation where they were making decisions to be legally separated would have been putting that off until financial stability returned. Couples couldn't afford to separate.

"I think that is why you also see a decline in judicial separation figures at the height of the recession and now that we are coming out of the recession we are seeing a rise in divorce rates."

Current divorce rates are still 11pc off the 2007 peak.

Dr Crosse said they were likely to stabilise once the economy recovers fully because there is still a cultural stigma associated with divorce.

"We are still very much an outlier in comparison to other European countries," said Dr Crosse.

"We still have quite low rates of divorce.

"My research in the last two years looked at both the culture and attitudes of both older mothers and younger mothers. It found that the stigma was very much the same, especially because of the stigma of becoming a lone parent. A lot of the women I spoke to actually put off the decision to separate because of the stigma."

Sunday Independent