The term ‘marriage of convenience’ is not explicitly defined as an offence in Irish legislation and accurate statistics on the issue are thus not available. Article 41.3.1 of the Constitution of Ireland 1937 provides for a privileged position for marriage. A 2011 case before the Irish courts, Izmailovic & Anor v. The Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, found that ‘marriages of convenience’ are not unlawful in Irish law and the Gardaí are not empowered to prevent their solemnisation. Civil registrars are legally unable to refuse to conduct a proposed wedding in the case of a suspected marriage of convenience unless there is an impediment to the marriage (as provided for in the Civil Registration Act 2004). In the case of both parenthood and marriage registration in Ireland, a presumption of validity prevails unless questioned. Reasons for suspected marriages of convenience are primarily related to imprisonment and/or a human trafficking situation involving female applicants and debt bondage involving male applicants. Anecdotal evidence has indicated financial gain also
