Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 239: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons committed to prison for non-payment of fines and non-payment of debt in 2011; if he will provide comparative figures for the previous three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40561/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The number of committals for the past 3 years solely for non - payment of fines and civil debt is set out in the table. Figures are taken from the Annual Reports of the Irish Prison Service. In the case of 2011, these figures are provisional pending the publication of the 2011 Annual Report.

I can advise the Deputy that the number of such persons held in custody at any one time is a minute fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point 20 prisoners or 0.5% of the prison population on 30 November 2011 fell into this category. The Deputy may also wish to note that the Fines Act 2010 includes a number of provisions designed to minimise the level of fine default and where it does occur, to ensure, as far as possible, that fine defaulters are not committed to prison. In particular, under Section 14 of the Act, the court must consider the financial circumstances of the person before the amount of the fine is determined. There are also provisions in the Act, that I intend to commence in 2012, allowing for the payment of fines by instalments; the appointment of receivers to recover outstanding fines (or property to the value of those fines); and the substitution of community service orders for fines, where they remain unpaid after the receiver has completed his or her work. I expect that these measures, taken together, will all but eliminate the need to commit persons to prison for non-payment of fines.