Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 5, line 11, to delete "compensation, costs" and substitute "costs, compensation".

Heretofore, a person on whom a fine was imposed either paid that fine in full by the due date or failed to do so, in which case a warrant was activated and the individual could be arrested and brought to prison. Under the new arrangements, part-payment of fines is possible. This is an important provision in terms of ensuring that persons of limited means have a period of time in which to pay a fine and can do so on an incremental basis. In addition, we must ensure that where people are made redundant, they do not find themselves at the receiving end of a warrant.

"Fines" is defined in section 2 to include costs, compensation, expenses and the penalty itself. Where a fine is part-paid, it is necessary to set out how the part-paid fine is to be allocated where it is made up of a number of different elements. The new section 24 provides that where less than the total due is collected, the order of satisfaction is costs, compensation, expenses and the penalty. The amendment to section 2 is a minor drafting amendment to reflect the order of satisfaction in section 24. The latter section provides the necessary changes to address that position.