Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013 completes its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas

Today marks a historic day for the fines payment system in Ireland

Mr Alan Shatter TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, today welcomed the completion of the passage of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013 through both Houses of the Oireachtas.

Speaking in the Dáil at the conclusion of proceedings, the Minister remarked that the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013 delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to introduce attachment of earnings to recover unpaid fines. Under this Bill the law has been radically reformed and all the provisions relating to the payment and recovery of fines are to be found in one place.

Minister Shatter continued “The Fines Bill will provide an appropriate response to the twin problems of the refusal or failure of some people to pay fines and the inappropriateness of imprisonment as the automatic response where this happens.”

Minister Shatter said “We will now have a system that is logical and proportionate”:

· Fines will be set at a level that takes into account the person’s financial circumstances;
· All fines over €100 can be paid by instalments;
· Where a person defaults, he or she is brought back to court where the judge first considers making an Attachment Order;
· Where it is not appropriate to make an Attachment Order, the judge can make either a Recovery Order, where the fine is more than €500 or a Community Service Order;
· Where either an Attachment Order or a Recovery Order are made and the fine is still not recovered in full, the court can make a Community Service Order; and
· Imprisonment will only apply where it is not possible to make a Community Service Order or where one is made and the person fails to comply with it.

The Minister recalled that more than 8,000 people were imprisoned for the non-payment of fines in 2013 and said that he was confident that with the changes to the fines system that will flow from the implementation of the Bill, that number will be greatly reduced.

The Minister assured Deputies that it is his intention that the provisions in the Bill will become operational as soon as possible. The Courts Service expect to be in a position to accept instalment payments in the Autumn and the other provisions, such as attachment, recovery and community service will kick in once the default provisions are engaged, probably towards the end of this year or early next year.

Minister Shatter today remarked that “Today marks a historic day for the fines payment system in Ireland. For more than a century, you either paid a fine or went to prison in default. That system will end once this Bill is signed by the President and commenced, replaced by a system that is in tune with contemporary Ireland, that is amenable to the deployment of the latest technologies, and that is above all, effective.”

10 April 2014