Mary White (Fianna Fail)

The matter I raise relates to the imprisonment of people because of non-payment of debt. This issue was first brought to my attention by Ms Esther Lynch, the legislation and public affairs officer of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and I subsequently received help from Mr. Paul Joyce, one of the drivers of change of this legislation.

Imprisonment for non-payment of debt is governed by the enforcement of the Court Orders Act 1926, as amended in 1940, and is the culmination of a long-drawn-out process in which the debtor often plays little or no part. It begins with the service of legal proceedings which the debtor rarely if ever defends, as the fact of the debt is not contested. As a result, there is no court hearing, and the creditor enters summary judgment by filing the appropriate papers in the relevant court office.

Although the debtor is informed of the judgment, it may take some months before any enforcement action is taken. One of the most common methods of enforcement to recover the debt is the instalment order procedure. This involves the debtor being summoned to send in his or her details of income expenditure in advance of having his or her means examined in open court on a specific date.

Given that debtors are often in poor financial circumstances, with multiple debts, and because the hearing is held in open court, debtors rarely attend. This often results in an instalment order being made for an amount of money which the debtor cannot afford. Failure to meet the terms of that order may lead to a committal summons being served on the debtor, who is then imprisoned.

In this day and age, that is archaic legislation. The procedure is flawed first because it fails at an early stage to establish the financial position of the debtor, taking into account all of the person's debts. A debtor's debt should be examined in totality, not on a case by case basis. The procedure takes place in public, which is guaranteed to ensure that the debtor does not appear. Further, it fails to take into account the stigma associated with debt, and the stress, panic and shame which many people feel in such a situation. To involve a criminal sanction which is totally inappropriate for a civil matter and impacts adversely on the debtor and his or her dependents, is extremely costly, with no return for the State. It also does not benefit the creditor.

Nobody benefits from the imprisonment of an individual for the non-payment of debts. Not only is the debtor temporarily precluded from any chance of repaying, because he or she cannot earn money while incarcerated, but the serving of warrants and imprisonment of individuals for non-payment of debts is a waste of taxpayers' money, prison space and Garda time.

How many people are currently in prison for non-payment of debts? The free legal aid unit within ICTU has requested that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform set up a high-level committee to look at the reform of this archaic legislation and take into consideration consumer pressures and demands, and the spending and borrowing by consumers in the 21st century.