For only €500, and in the short space of six weeks, married couples can now get their very own quickie divorce in Ireland.

Marianna Fritz, from Cape Town, set up the Irish Divorce Service four years ago after realising Irish couples were "being ripped off in the divorce courts".

She now says her cheaper approach has caused difficulties with other solicitors in the courts who see her as taking away their business.

"I can tell the other solicitors in the court do not like me. They try to find faults with me when clients mention my name and the fact I offer the same service at such a different price. Some of the solicitors are fine, and then there are others who feel I am taking their business away from them. The fact is I offer the exact same service; there is no legal difference."

The current average price for a divorce is between €10,000 and €20,000, and Fritz says Irish couples need to "open their eyes" to the fact they need not pay this for what is a simple process. "When both sides consent, there is no reason why it should be any more expensive than what I charge. I was dealing with a client yesterday who had just got a quote from a solicitor who was demanding €14,000 for the exact same service as the one I provide. How solicitors can charge so much for something so straightforward is simply unbelievable."

The recession has increased Fritz's workload from an average of three divorces a week to seven. It has also created a marked change in clientele.

"Business has really taken off recently. Where previously I would have around three divorces a week, I have around seven now, on average. My clientele has changed a lot – I used to have clients who were primarily unemployed or who didn't have many assets.

"Now I have businessmen and women and a whole new variety of clients. I am now dealing with people who have assets worth a few million each. These are people who two years ago would have been in a position to literally throw €20,000 on a divorce but who can't afford to waste their money anymore."

The Courts Service in Ireland says 2008 saw on average 70 divorces a week, and given the slight yearly increase this is now likely to be higher.