Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners who are in prison for non-payment of fines or for non-payment of debts; the percentage of the prison population involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9468/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy the number of prisoners who are in prison for non-payment of a court ordered fine or for the non-payment of a debt is a tiny fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point, on 25 February, 2014, 4 people or 0.10%, out of a prison population of 4,053 were in custody for non-payment of fines. There were no prisoners in custody for non-payment of debt.

I am strongly of the view that we need to keep the numbers of people committed to prison for the non-payment of fines to the absolute minimum. The Fines Payment and Recovery Bill, which was published last July and is before the Seanad (Second Stage) on 26 February, 2014 represents a major reform of our fine payment and recovery system and provides for the payment of fines by instalment and attachment of earnings.

Allowing everyone to pay a fine by instalment and introducing attachment of earnings are important new reforms to the fine collection system which will lead to improved collection rates for fines. The new measures provided for, combined with the requirement that judges must take a person’s financial circumstances into account when setting a fine, should result in a reduction in the number of people committed to prison.

When this Bill is enacted, it will be easier for people to pay a fine and where they fail to do so, there will be sufficient alternatives available to the courts to all but eliminate the need to commit anyone to prison for the non-payment of fines.