Failure to pay fines will not lead to jail

New payment systems will be put in place by the end of the year that will “effectively eliminate” jail time for fine defaulters — almost six years after laws inaugurating the shift were enacted.

People who fail to pay court fines have increasingly clogged up prisons since the recession — with numbers doubling between 2009 and 2014, when almost 9,000 were jailed.

The Courts Service will soon have a system in place — through post offices — allowing for the payment of fines by instalments.