Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 4, line 38, to delete "fine not exceeding €5,000" and substitute "class A fine".

I refer Deputies to the Fines Act 2010. The purpose of the Act was to update the value of all existing fines that can be imposed on summary conviction to their value at the time of enactment or, where appropriate, when last updated in legislation. Five classes of maxima have been created and placed in tables to avoid having to update individually each fine separately, which would not be practicable. This amendment provides that the final conviction of an offence of up to €5,000 that had initially been included in this Bill, which was drafted before the Fines Bill 2010 was enacted, could now become a class A fine. This will allow the amount to be updated as appropriate without an undue administrative burden in years to come.

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