Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This Bill represents a major reform of the system that governs fines payment and recovery in Ireland, and provides for the payment of fines by instalment and attachment of earnings. The Government is committed to ensuring court decisions are respected and complied with. The Government is also committed to keeping the number of people committed to prison for non-payment of fines to an absolute minimum, and I fully support that approach.

I believe that prison is for people who represent a danger to society, such as those who commit violent acts or who pose harm to society, such as those who commit white collar criminal offences. I do not believe that people who have failed to pay a fine in respect of a dog licence or television licence fall into either of those categories, especially during a time of financial hardship for many.

When I was previously a Member of this House between 1992 and 1997, there was a practice whereby Deputies could petition the Minister for Justice on behalf of a constituent who had incurred a fine and was in financial hardship. The previous speaker also referred to this practice. I recall getting many such requests at that time but, thankfully, that practice has ended as it was found to be unlawful.

Allowing everyone to pay a fine by instalment and introducing attachment of earnings are important new reforms to the fine collection system which will lead to improved collection rates. Last year, some 8,300 people were sent to prison for the non-payment of fines. Those people comprised the vast majority of those sentenced to short sentences by our courts and committed to prison in 2012. The new measures provided for in the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013, combined with the requirement that judges must take a person’s financial circumstances into account when setting a fine, should result in a reduction in the number of people committed to prison, with all the benefits to society that will follow from that.

This Bill would make it easier for people to pay a fine and, where they fail to do so, there will be sufficient alternatives available to the courts to all but eliminate the need to commit anyone to prison for the non-payment of fines. Every person on whom a fine is imposed will be able to opt to pay the fine by instalments over 12 months.

Where a person fails to pay a fine in full, including by instalments, he or she will be required to return to court and, depending on their circumstances, the court will either make an attachment of earnings order directing the person’s employer to deduct the fine from the person’s earnings, a recovery order appointing a receiver to recover assets to the value of the fine, or a community service order. I hope attachment of earnings orders will be used as a last resort. Community service is a far better alternative to imprisonment in such cases.

The introduction of attachment of earnings orders for unpaid fines is a commitment in the programme for Government. Such orders are likely to be applied in most cases where a fine defaulter is in employment or in receipt of an occupational pension.

The Bill also contains a number of administrative changes that will improve the courts’ capacity to ensure fines are paid. I understand that work is ongoing on developing the Courts Service IT infrastructure to enable the legislation to be workable by early next year.

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