John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I will do my best for the Deputy. I heard him say on Second Stage that he would withdraw the amendment and understood the reasons and I heard the Deputy's points. On the scale of the debt, if it is a legitimate debt it is fine. As to whether a person's past record is taken into account it is a question of how one looks at it. It is not taken into account in the manner in which the Deputy suggests. A person's means and ability are taken into account. The intention is not to imprison somebody who is unable to pay. The person's current means are taken into account not that he or she might have previously been in this situation.

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