Registrars have refused to comply with new regulations introduced by the Government to prevent so called sham marriages.

New provisions in the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 came into effect on August 19th which gives marriage registrars new powers to prevent marriages of convenience.

However, the registrars are not co-operating with the measures due to a lack of consultation on them.

Impact trade union, which is representing the workers, confirmed a meeting has been scheduled for next week in a bid to resolve the dispute.

Spokesman Niall Shanahan said: “A meeting took place between management and the union representatives last week on the 16th of September.

“Staff are unhappy that prior to commencement of the act, there was no consultation on their additional duties.

“They will not undertake the additional responsibilities until further discussions with management.”

Registrars and the Health Service Executive are now to meet on September 30th to dissolve the dispute.

The HSE, described as management, will bring a report to the discussions explaining the new duties of registrars.

A spokesman for the HSE said: “The HSE is involved in on-going positive engagement with Impact regarding matters in respect of civil registration and a further meeting is planned for next week.”

Under the new Act commenced in August, registrars have the right to investigate and to form an opinion, based on the information presented by the two parties, of the veracity of the application to marry.

Justice and Equality

Registrars can refuse to issue a marriage registration form and can inform and make enquiries with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of the Department of Justice and Equality.

The Act asks registrars to consider a number of things when forming an opinion about whether an intended marriage constitutes a marriage of convenience.

There are 10 measures to be examined by a registrar before coming to the conclusion that the marriage is a sham.

They include: if the parties to the intended marriage speak a common language; the period prior to the relevant notification of the intended marriage during which the parties to the intended marriage were known to each other; and the extent to which each party to the intended marriage intends to continue an existing commitment to mutual emotional and financial support of the other party to the intended marriage.

There are no official figures on the number of sham marriages in this country but Government Ministers claim there has been a rise in allegations in recent years.

An inquiry into wedding patterns in 2010 found applications for residency based on marriage to a Latvian spouse from 116 Pakistani nationals, 13 Nigerians and 36 Indian men.

Sixteen people were arrested and nine of those were removed or deported from the State.