Father’s fear as son jailed for €240 fine

A DISTRAUGHT father has pleaded with the state authorities to free his son from Mountjoy prison after he was yesterday imprisoned for two weeks over his failure to pay a fine of €240.

A caller to RTÉ’s Liveline programme who identified himself only as Patrick, said he feared for the safety of his 30-year-old son in the notoriously overcrowded prison.

He contacted the phone-in show hosted by Joe Duffy to air his concerns about the need to jail people who were unable to pay fines for economic reasons.