Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

It is wrong to criminalise those people and bring in fines, whether they are €5,000 or €10,000. I am pleading with the Minister as people have made the following point at meetings in Donegal. Many people are saying they will not pay the registration fee and if they are brought to court and fined, as the judge is entitled to impose a class A fine of €5,000, what happens if it is not paid? People will not be able to pay the fines and will end up in jail. The Minister said the local authority carries out the work, and he is not willing to correct the legislation. When those people come out of jail they may have a bill of €20,000 or €30,000 for the work of the local authority and they will be billed again.