JUST 19 per cent of those who availed of marriage counselling services provided by Accord last year were men. Of the remainder, 42 per cent were women, while 39 per cent were couples.
The figures emerged yesterday as the Accord Awareness Week began. It was launched by the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Taylor. He described as "a regrettable fact of modern life" that the work of marriage counselling institutions "is likely to increase rather than decrease in the future.
Accord is an islandwide Catholic marriage counselling service, which is available to all, regardless of belief or practice. The purpose of the week, which began yesterday and continues until Friday, is to inform couples with marriage problems that such a service is available.
Mr Taylor speculated that perhaps the rate of marriage breakdown in Ireland "might well be higher" were it not for organisations such as Accord and others. He praised all such groups for their dedication and commitment "to supporting families in difficulty".
This year the Department of Equality and Law Reform will provide £900,000 for such services. Last year, "almost 41,000 people" availed of Accord's services, at 57 centres in the 32 counties. Of that figure, 13,000 took part in marriage preparation programmes, 10,804 availed of marriage counselling, marital sex therapy, and fertility counselling.
Accord has set up a free helpline, 1850-662663, which will be open between 9.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. until Friday evening next.
. In Northern Ireland, the Accord report shows there has been an increase of 17.5 per cent in the number of couples seeking help. In some areas, the rise has been particularly marked, such as Co Derry, where 53 per cent more couples have sought help in the past year. The figure for Co Armagh shows a 42 per cent increase.
Last year, almost 41,000 people took up one or more of Accord's services. The most common problems are violence, alcohol abuse and extramarital affairs.
