Like it or not, there's business in romance. It may offend the purists who believe that love cannot be arranged, but dating agencies have become part of life over the last couple of decades.
The agencies may have started out with quite a homogenous clientele, but they are becoming ever more specialised. There are agencies which cater solely for single parents, for pet-owners, for vegetarians, for divorcees, for professionals with a certain income.
The Belfast-based The Bridge Across Forever believes it's the first dating/friendship agency in Ireland aimed at the holistic minded. Mark Murray (38) is the co-ordinator of the agency.
"What makes us different from other agencies is that the holistic angle is to the forefront. It's for people who want to meet friends, and maybe a partner, to share their holistic outlook on life. People who want to make their dreams come true."
Referring to the name of the agency - The Bridge Across Forever - which devotees of New Age writer Richard Bach will recognise as the title of one of his books, Murray says: "My hope is that the agency will act as a bridge for people to find their soulmates. I subscribe to the romantic view that a soulmate will be with you forever."
What is his definition of someone who has a holistic outlook? "They would include people involved in and interested in areas such as counselling, aromatherapy, reflexology, reiki, and massage. People who are seeking to improve the quality of their lives and to find improved health, vitality and happiness through positive thinking."
Murray himself signed up with a standard dating agency a few years ago. It left him feeling dissatisfied. "I didn't meet like-minded people through that agency," he says. "And it's difficult to be in a relationship with someone who doesn't understand how important a holistic outlook is to you."
It was then he had the idea to set up The Bridge Across Forever. Since his work as counsellor is a part-time commitment, it allowed him to act as co-ordinator of the project. "There isn't any other agency like ours filling this particular gap in the market in Ireland, to my knowledge."
"Carmel" is 47 and lives in Dublin. She's happy to talk about what interested her in the agency but doesn't want to be identified. She joined The Bridge Across Forever when she saw its literature in her local health food shop.
"It was the holistic element which attracted me, yes. I meditate daily and am into personal development." What does she understand by that nebulous expression, personal development? "It's about having a sense of my own journey through a life based on natural values. Material things, for example, are not important to me. I wouldn't be living my life in that system of values."
Carmel has been single for several years. "In my opinion, the mature singles scene in Ireland hasn't developed yet," she says. "If you're a single woman here and 30-plus in Ireland, and you're not into the pub and club scene, then it's very difficult to meet a potential partner. I've been to Lisdoonvarna and to me, it was just a major drinking session."
Like Murray, Carmel had tried out other agencies before. "Apart from their exorbitant prices, they seemed to be very impersonal. All the ones I tried seemed to operate by matching people using database methods. With The Bridge Across Forever, I know that any other people I meet will have a similar outlook to me. It would be good to think that possibly I might meet a partner through the agency, but the friendship and social element will be important too. Holistic values are more important to me than other things such as what job someone has."
Murray is keen to stress that the agency is also for those who are interested in "finding friends and making connections into a support group of holistic-minded people". Of the annual membership fee (£75 or £65 sterling) £5 will be diverted to a holistic centre in the locality of the member.
After filling out the questionnaire, you are then sent the register of possible introductions. Your own details will be included in future registers and all initial contact is by good, old-fashioned, pen-and-paper letter.
To date, there are 60 members, countrywide, as the scheme was tested before being officially launched last month. Murray is hoping that the agency will have upwards of a thousand members by the end of the year. He adds: "It's all about giving yourself an opportunity."
More information about The Bridge Across Forever is available from 13 Laganvale Street, Belfast BT9 5FR. Tel: 01232-598156.