Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

It is appropriate that we raise ethical and ideological arguments around this issue and this is an appropriate forum in which to do so. To substantiate the point, there would be widespread acceptance of the idea that sending people to prison for a short time is a failed policy. My point about fines being a replacement is precisely the one being made. If people have an ability to pay, it is an easy option for them. It is a licence to pay their fine and not a hardship. If people do not have an ability to pay, what is the point in fining them?

The Minister of State makes the point that the Bill is seeking to do what we want, but it is not because one only needs to read the Title. If it was entitled the non-custodial short-term sentence Bill, it might address that issue, but it is entitled the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill; therefore, the Minister is not giving judges options per se, rather he is prioritising fines as an alternative to, for example, the better alternative put forward by Deputy Mick Wallace, namely, community service. The reasons for this are clear. Why should someone who is rich and has the money to buy his or her way out of anything be allowed do this? It is appropriate that he or she do some community service. That would be a greater hardship for somebody who has money than the payment of a fine. If one does not have money, it is a much better option than a short-term custodial sentence. It is about having a more reforming attitude to the way in which judgments are given, but we are saying that for various reasons, community service should be the way, rather than fines. The Minister is giving judges a licence to prioritise fines, which is wrong on a number of counts.

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