Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on this Bill and I thank my colleagues for sharing Government time with me. The dysfunctionality of the current practice in regard to the collection of court imposed fines was recently highlighted by a case involving The Irish Times columnist, John Waters, to which Deputy John Paul Phelan referred. Having failed to pay a €40 parking fine, Mr. Waters presented himself at Dún Laoghaire Garda station and was transported by gardaí to Wheatfield Prison where he was processed and spent approximately two hours before being released. The whole exercise cost the State far more in resources than the original fine. He was essentially afforded a very expensive visitor's tour of the prison facilities before heading home in time for his dinner.

The provisions of the Bill seek to address some of the problems arising from the disproportionality and rigidity of the current system. The introduction of a range of enforcement options, such as attachment orders, community service and the appointment of receivers, will improve compliance rates and make imprisonment an option of last resort. Rather than imposing further expense on society, the Bill will ensure offenders repay their debt to society. While it represents bad news for those who will not pay, it is a welcome development for those who wish to pay but struggle to do so within the timeframes outlined by the courts. In this regard, I warmly welcome the inclusion of section 6, which again provides for the payment of court-imposed fines by instalment. This was an aspiration under the Fines Act 2010, as we know, but the relevant section was not commenced because of the need for the courts' information technology system to be developed and upgraded to enable it to function as envisaged in the 2010 Act.

Like other Members of the House, in recent years I have met several constituents who want to pay court fines they have received but do not have the means to do so within the permitted timeframe. They have sought to engage with the Courts Service by offering what they could, along with a genuine undertaking that the balance would follow but this cannot be accommodated and they face the prospect of going to prison. It is difficult for Deputies to explain to them that a law providing for the payment of fines by instalment has been passed, but the relevant section of that legislation has not yet been commenced. One might expect to hear the excuse that a staggered payment plan is not possible because the courts' computer system cannot process the information from a substandard call centre, but not from the justice system of the State. The inclusion in this Bill of a section providing for payment by instalments is to be welcomed. It will bring fairness to the system. Under the current system, those who cannot afford to pay go to prison, whereas those who can comfortably pay their fines do not. This is the epitome of inequality.

The provisions of the Bill will mean nothing to those who have to pay fines unless they are enabled through the adequate resourcing of the courts system in order to allow them to work. It is worth noting that the estimated outlay involved in the required upgrade of the District Court criminal case management system and the courts' accounting system is approximately €400,000, which is a fraction of the projected increase in revenue that will accrue from improved collection rates and a reduction in the number of people being imprisoned for not paying fines if this legislation is enacted in full. I would be anxious to hear a commitment from the Minister regarding a timeframe within which the requisite resources and infrastructure might be provided to allow this legislation to function fully and as intended.

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