Ms Patricia King:

Two things can happen under section 78 of the Act. At the moment a €1,000 fine can be imposed but it is one of these that needs to be paid within 21 days of issuing the ticket. Twenty-one days is far too long; that should be addressed. I would urge this committee to consider that. it should be an on-the-spot fine from our perspective.

A HSA inspector can move to go to the District Court. A €3,000 fine or 12 months' imprisonment applies if the complaint is handled in the District Court. If it is on indictment and the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, goes to another court, it can be €3,000 or two years in jail. Those are the penalties that exist in the current legislation. Somebody said to me this morning that it is the value of the deterrent. The value of a deterrent even of a €1,000 fine is based on how many times a person does it. It could be very effective if it was utilised on a constant basis and people felt threatened by it.