A court is to give live-in lovers the same anonymity currently reserved for couples whose marriages are in difficulty.
The Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Esmond Smyth, has said in Dublin Circuit Civil Court that in future home division disputes between cohabiting partners will be heard by judges in private.
Judge Smyth said that from now on such cases would be listed in the Family Law courts in order to show respect for the privacy of people's lives.
Prior to yesterday's ruling, disputes, involving the division by the courts of increased market value in a shared home, have been held in public. Child custody battles between partners in non-marriage relationships have always been held in camera.
The decision on the secret hearing of equity disputes was handed down at a time when the Department of Justice and the recently established Courts Service is working to introduce greater transparency and public awareness of how the courts system operates.
The Government is currently considering the introduction of new legislation to allow the reporting by barristers of judgments handed down in the Family Law courts while still respecting the in camera restrictions on identifying the parties involved.
As the law stands there is little or no way of publicly disseminating often hugely important in camera family law decisions of major public importance to anyone contemplating separation or divorce.
With the boom in property values over the past decade the number of equity disputes involving the division of property assets between co-habiting couples has greatly increased.