Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 1 is fairly self-explanatory. As the Minister of State is aware, my party supports the objective of this long-overdue Bill. One must ensure, in so far as possible, that people are not being sent to prison for non-payment of fines. However, one must also try to ensure the fines are actually collected in a realistic fashion. Sinn Féin considers that people who will come before the courts for non-payment of fines should be given a period of 24 months. In this respect, Sinn Féin is supported by other groups such as the Free Legal Advice Centres, as well as non-governmental organisations that work in this area. I ask the Government to consider extending the timeframe for the payment of a fine in these instalments from 12 to 24 months.

As for amendment No. 2, an administrative charge comprising 10% of the fine is proposed in the Bill. My point is that a maximum value should be placed on that charge. The amendment proposes that the administrative charge should not be in excess of €50. It should be €50 regardless, in that even if the fine is higher than €500, €50 should be the maximum amount for the administrative charge. Amendment No. 3 pertains to the amount that cannot be subject to instalments. The Government has provided that any amount less than €100 must be paid up-front and cannot be subject to instalments. This amendment proposes the reduction of that threshold to €50. Again, the objective of all these amendments is to make the legislation work and to ensure that the maximum number of people possible actually pay the fine and are not obliged to go to jail or engage in community service unnecessarily.

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