Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons committed to prison for non-payment of fines for each of the years 2004 to 2008. [4425/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The number of persons committed to prison custody as a consequence of the non-payment of a court ordered fine during the years 2004 to 2007 is set out in the following table. It has not been possible to retrieve the required statistical information for 2008 in the timeframe available. This will be forwarded to the Deputy in due course.

I can advise the Deputy that the number of such persons held in custody at any one time is a tiny fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point, figures relating to 9 February, 2009 indicate that approximately 0.62 percent of the numbers in prison custody fell into this category.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons committed to prison for non-payment of debts for each of the years 2004 to 2008. [4426/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Statistics on the number of committals to prison custody as a result of failure to comply with a court order in relation to the non-payment of a civil debt are set out in the following table. The table covers the years from 2004 to 2008.

I can advise the Deputy that the number of such persons held in custody at any one time is a tiny fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point, figures relating to 9 February, 2009 indicate that less than 0.4 percent of the numbers in prison custody fell into this category. Imprisonment for non-payment of debt was abolished by the Debtors (Ireland) Act 1872. However, refusal to pay a contractual debt may amount to civil contempt of court, for which imprisonment may be imposed.