Community work proposed for those unable to pay fines
Instead, they will have to repay their debt to society by carrying out community work such as removing graffiti and “generally improving the environment,” Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said last night.
The minister announced he will bring an amendment to the Fines Bill 2009 to the Dáil.
“This means that prisons will be used for those who need to be locked away from society and allows those who refuse to pay fines with the option of paying society back in general by doing community work, removing graffiti and generally improving the environment for everyone,” he said.
“People still have to pay their debt, but rather than serve it in prison at great cost to the taxpayer they can do it by serving the community,” he said. In 2008, 276 people were jailed for failure to pay a debt, spending an average of 20 days behind bars.
“When a person serves their sentence, they still owe the money and generally speaking the circumstances are the same or worse than when they went into prison,” a report published by the Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs said yesterday.
The Irish Banking Federation supports calls by those helping those who fall into a debt spiral – the Free Legal Advice Centre and The Money Advice and Budgeting Service for an overhaul of the debt enforcement system.
The cabinet yesterday agreed to a trebling of the number of community service orders issued from 1,600 annually to 6,000.
“This will dramatically increase sentencing options for our courts but of course such decisions rest with our judges,” said Mr Ahern.
“We must have sanctions against those who blatantly ignore fines imposed by the courts, no system can operate without sanctions, but the changes I have announced today provide for a remedy which does not necessarily mean at great expense,” he said.
Yesterday’s report on indebtedness said the Legal Aid Board took on just four debt cases last year.
“People with debt problems are clearly not getting priority,” it said.
“People with financial difficulty urgently require legal information and advice. The very nature of the difficulty means they cannot afford to pay the legal fees themselves.”
