Minister Ahern Welcomes New Fines Legislation (June 2010)
Mr. Dermot Ahern T.D., Minister for Justice and Law Reform, said new
legislation on fines is at the cutting edge of law reform.
President Mary McAleese has signed the Fines Bill 2009 into law. The
Minister looks forward to commencing the legislation as soon as necessary
arrangements have been made by the Courts Service to fully facilitate its
operation.
Minister Ahern said: "The legislation provides for an innovative, balanced
and more humane approach to the determination and collection of fines.
Capacity to pay and equality of impact are at the heart of this legislation.
We must also ensure however, that those who clearly can pay fines but
refuse to do so do not escape penalty. Ultimately, that means imprisonment,
where alternative measures to secure payment fail. It is socially desirable
that prison remain an option for fine defaulters in the most exceptional
circumstances e.g. where a person has a malign reason for refusing to pay
a fine."
The Act provides for the indexation of fines so that, once again, fines
imposed following conviction for offences will have the value they had when
they were first introduced or were last updated.
The legislation addresses the issue of capacity to pay by requiring the
court to examine the financial circumstances of the person before
determining the amount of the fine. Also, the person on whom the fine has
been imposed will be entitled to make an application to the court to pay by
instalments.
The Act provides for alternatives to imprisonment in the event of default
on payment of a fine. In these circumstances, a recovery order - made at
the time the court imposed the fine - can be activated and a receiver will
be entitled to recover the fine, or to seize and sell property belonging to
the person and recover the fine from the proceeds. A community service
order is also an option. Imprisonment in the event of default will be a
last resort.
The Act is available on the Oireachtas website - click here
2 June 2010
