Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 37: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has proposals to change the system of enforcement of court orders, particularly in relation to the collection of fines and committal proceedings for debt; and the timeframe for same. [34009/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Fines Bill currently before the House has three main purposes: to index all District Court Fines, to provide for equality of impact for all fines imposed by the courts and to provide for payment by instalment. These measures should significantly reduce the incidence of default in the payment of fines. The proposals are in line with the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission in their reports on the issue. The provisions of the Bill are the first phase in a process of reform of the fines system. The effectiveness of the measures contained in the Bill, when enacted, will be monitored by my Department.

The collection of fixed charge fines has also been under examination by my Department for some time, with a view to increasing payment compliance and thus reducing the number of these offences that come before the courts for non-payment. In April 2006, 31 new offences were categorised as fixed charge penalties. Additionally, legislation was introduced to increase incrementally the number of penalty points on conviction and increase the amount of the fine if not paid after 28 days with the objective of reducing the number of cases coming before the courts. In addition, a pilot study was commissioned by my Department to examine the feasibility of handing over the collection of fixed charge penalties to an external credit management agency. The preliminary results of this pilot study were quite encouraging, with over 22% of cases being cleared up. The Department is currently finalising an assessment of the pilot study with a view to establishing its introduction on a wider footing.

With regard to committal proceedings, a report commissioned by my Department on people committed to imprisonment for civil debt or non-payment of fines, concluded that fine defaulters tend to be unemployed or not in the labour force. The issue of attachment of earnings has been mentioned as an alternative to prison for fine defaulters. It may well be that attachment of earnings has a role in the case of an offender with a salary. However, an attachment of earnings mechanism would have no impact where the debtor has no salary. Furthermore, the issue of attachment of welfare payments raises serious questions about the effect of such provisions on people with few means.

In relation to warrants currently outstanding, the Garda Commissioner recognises that steps need to be taken to reduce the number of outstanding warrants as much as possible. Each regional Assistant Commissioner has therefore been directed to give priority to this issue and to review procedures in their areas for the execution of warrants.