David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for the exchange of views and their observations on the Courts (No. 2) Bill 2016 which, as we have said, is very technical. Our debate has been taken a step further towards enabling the introduction of a new third payment option as part of a dual strategy. The Bill provides for the amendment for technical reasons of section 1 of the Courts (No. 3) Act 1986 which deals with the issue of summonses for offences in the matter of administrative procedure.It also deals with the commencement once the proposed technical amendments to the Courts (No. 2) Bill have been made to section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport so that the third payment option can be put into practical effect. The operative date for these changes, for which the necessary IT infrastructure has been put in place, is 1 June 2017.

The benefits anticipated in the course of the Courts (No. 2) Bill and the subsequent introduction of the third payment option include an increase in instances of detected road traffic infringement resulting in penalty points - I note Senator Ó Donnghaile's point about the ultimate aim being to get people to slow down - as well as a reduction in the number of cases coming to court, thereby saving time for the Courts Service and An Garda Síochána and an increase in the number of persons taking first and second payment options, and also an improved service to the public who might otherwise overlook the payment of a fixed-charge notice. It is also important to remember that we are not only addressing a legal loophole in this instance, but being fair to the majority of drivers on the road who behave within the law every day. By the same token, the introduction of the third payment option is a key component in a series of ongoing measures to improve the operation of the fixed-charge processing system in the overall aegis of the Government's road safety strategy for 2013 to 2020.

For Senator Daly's information, while the initial 2013 estimate of the number of cases which may be at issue under the reform of the Courts (No. 2) Bill was 7,500, it is understood from the Courts Service that a more recent estimate is about 2,000 cases per year. However, it has been emphasised that in providing this latest figure, it is very much an estimate on account of the variety of approaches being taken at judicial level to such cases and the fact that the relevant figures fluctuate from court to court and from year to year.

Senators might be interested in some other statistics. In 2016, some 325,762 fixed-charge notices were issued, of which 234,000 were paid, which is a 72% payment rate. A large amount of money is coming in, but I take Senator Burke's point about the need to ensure that other outstanding funds are collected, if possible. We will respond to the Senator on that in more detail later.

I thank the Senators again for their approach to this Bill. I look forward to the ongoing debate on the Courts (No. 2) Bill 2016 as it progresses through its forthcoming Stages.