Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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It is not that somebody who has committed an offence would not be subject to a financial sanction; it is a matter of the size of the financial sanction imposed, based on the ability to pay. To use a simple and old saying, you cannot take blood from a turnip. There is no point in sanctioning somebody who is unable to pay but, at the same time, the legislation gives the capacity to take on board the severity of the offence, the duration for which it was being committed and the impact it has had. Taking these into consideration, a sanction would be imposed that the individual could afford, but without necessitating his or her being put into bankruptcy. It boils down to the principle of proportionality.