Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 8, line 4, to delete "12 months" and substitute "24 months".

I welcome the Minister to the committee. This Bill is very much welcome, particularly in the context of the report on overcrowding in Cork Prison that was published some weeks ago. Unfortunately, many judges continue to imprison people for non-payment of fines, a practice which causes great difficulty for governors who are struggling to manage numbers. I have been impressed with every governor with whom I have engaged. They are people who take considerable pride in the public service they provide and are keen to secure a good balance in their prisons. We all want to get to a stage where people who are handed a fine by the court are able to repay it. As it stands, people know that if they fail to pay a fine they will face no more than a night in prison or, more likely, no time in prison at all because of the overcrowding problem. That is unfair to those who repay their fines. In short, the system is not working properly.

My amendments Nos. 4, 6 and 7 are straightforward, their purpose being to facilitate people in making fine repayments. Amendment No. 4 seeks to restore the position under the original Fines Act whereby people would be given 24 months to make repayment, rather than the 12 months provided for in this Bill. Our objective is to ensure the maximum possible number of people pay their fines and thus avoid either community service or prison. Allowing them 24 months to do so is entirely reasonable and affords them every opportunity to meet their obligations.

Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 are in the same vein of seeking to make the system more sustainable. The Free Legal Advice Centres and other organisations have expressed concern in this regard. These amendments seek to make the system more affordable and doable in order to achieve maximum compliance with fine payment obligations.