Witnesses will no longer be required to swear before God or make an affirmation when filing affidavits under proposals agreed by Cabinet .

Under the present system, witnesses must swear upon a Bible or other religious book before a solicitor or notary public that the contents of their affidavits are true.

A non-religious litigant can make an affirmation which does not mention a higher being but only after they explicitly decline to take a religious oath.

Under the proposed system, witnesses can make a non-religious “statement of truth”, without having to declare if they believe in a god or not. This will also be done remotely without having to appear before a solicitor or notary public.

Welcoming the proposal, Law Society director general Ken Murphy said the oath and affirmation system places witnesses “in a position of embarrassment and indignity” and is “contrary to the right to privacy”.

Jurors and witnesses appearing in court will still have to take an oath or affirm and newly appointed judges will still have to swear before God.

Mr Murphy said, “given the diverse nature of contemporary Ireland” it would have been better to replace the oath-based system in its entirety.