Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Timmins for sharing his time with me. I am supportive of the Bill and congratulate the Government in bringing in much-needed reform in this area. We know the non-payment of fines results in lost revenue for the Exchequer, wastes Garda time and resources that could be better used in fighting crime and leads to the imprisonment of a large number of people for short periods of time. Recently, the journalist John Waters wrote about his experience of spending two hours in a cell over a €40 parking fine. He set out his experience and the sheer waste of time and money involved in the current system. That is why reform is very much needed.

We know the Bill provides for a comprehensive system of collection and recovery of fines allowing for the first time for an attachment of earnings so that a fine will come out of a person's wage. That is one way of dealing with those who consistently abuse the law and fail to pay the moneys that are owing. In paying the fine, the only choice they have is to decide whether to make a single payment or to pay by instalments from their wages. If they fail to pay the fine within the year, they will face further court action through either a recovery order, an attachment order or community service. If all the options are exhausted, the person could face imprisonment. There is a major problem in this area.

As Deputies and legislators, we are all disappointed to see so many people imprisoned for minor crimes, given the overcrowded prisons in this country. The Irish Penal Reform Trust gave a statistic of 8,304 committals for non-payment of court order fines in 2012, including 242 people imprisoned for failing to pay fines for not having a television licence. The trust also advised that 85% of fine defaulters are back in custody within four years, which shows how ineffective the current system is.

The amount of money involved is sizeable, with the cost to the taxpayer last year estimated to be more than €2 million. The new measures are expected to result in substantially higher fine collection rates, some estimates suggesting approximately €4 million. Sometimes people are imprisoned for only a small number of hours - I referred to the case of John Waters - but there is a great deal of paperwork and administration involved, and much wastage of time on trivial matters. Dealing with the payment through people's wages is much more relevant.

Recently in my constituency a couple contacted me who were threatened with court action because they were unable to pay their television licence. A fine of €1,200 had accumulated over time and there was a threat they would be imprisoned. The couple were both in their 60s, fragile and very distressed and stressed out by the situation. If this Bill can prevent such situations, we must all welcome the change.

The system suggested in the Bill is very similar to the one in place in the UK, where imprisonment for non-payment of fines is rare and is only implemented if a person continues to ignore the various requests for payment made to him or her by the courts. In addition, a person can ask to pay fines in instalments and this will be considered by the court, which considers the person's genuine financial circumstances. If a car is clamped, for example, the car will be held by the court and sold, if need be, in order to pay for the fine. I am confident that this legislation will contribute favourably and will make a difference to the numbers currently caught up in our prisons for the non-payment of small fines.

I have one question for the Minister of State. I understand there is no provision in the Bill to deduct unpaid court fines from social welfare payments. Can this be considered in light of what takes place in the UK? Here, only up to €2 per week can be deducted. Is the Minister of State worried this might unfairly target people in employment over those who are claiming social welfare payments?

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