Gardaí and Courts to crack down on jury duty shirkers

Gardaí and the Courts Service are planning a crackdown on people who shirk jury duty, warning prosecutions will follow for those who fail to show up when summoned.

Changes to legislation, introduced in 2008, increased the fine for failing to comply with a jury summons to €500 — 10 times the previous penalty — but that threat has not proved a deterrent to the thousands of people who are no-shows each year.

A Courts Service spokesman said the numbers prosecuted and fined under this law were very small, but this would change: “We are working on a way of liaising with the gardaí in terms of enforcing the law. We are not a prosecuting body, but we are working on a protocol that would make it much easier for the gardaí to prosecute and for the law to be effective.”