Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The point he makes is absolutely correct. There are a lot of fines outstanding there that have not been paid. If a person is due to pay a fine, I think he or she should be paying it. If the person does not pay it, the route is back into court again, as I understand it. Then we will be faced with situations where people who did not pay maybe relatively small fines have been brought back into the courts and may face a custodial sentence. The Deputy knows himself what happens then, and sometimes there is a lot of concern about that.

I agree that we need an effective, efficient and robust criminal legal system. The Department of Justice is currently working to reform how criminal legal aid works. As part of this work, the Minister has published the general scheme of the criminal justice (legal aid) Bill 2023. This Bill will outline the operation of the criminal legal aid scheme. It will introduce strengthened oversight and governance structures, and I can confirm to the Deputy that the general scheme is currently with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting.

It is important that proper assessments are carried out when deciding if a person can qualify for criminal legal aid, and that is why this new legislation will allow the courts, where the courts might consider it warranted, to refer an applicant to the legal aid board for an assessment of their financial circumstances to be carried out under regulations to be drawn up under the terms of the Bill. The board will then be able to recommend that a person can afford to contribute to their legal costs, rather than having the entire bill borne by the taxpayer. A court will make the final decision in the matter. However, I am informed that to restrict access to criminal legal aid for repeat offenders would be found to be unconstitutional. Any unreasonable block on legal aid could give a convicted person an avenue for appeal and delay the outcome of the case even further. To do so would run contrary to the protection of our democracy and the rule of law.

It is important for me to emphasise that the law in respect of bail is comprehensive and has been strengthened on a number of occasions over the years, most recently in 2017. The Department of Justice is currently working on the modernisation of criminal legal aid and will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders, including the legal profession, on the modernisation and funding of the legal aid system.

I take the point the Deputy has raised. It is concerning when people do not pay their fines. I will raise the matter again with the Minister. It is a bit of a bugbear for many. When people are fined, that is the penalty and they should pay their fines.

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