Crackdown by courts service over €35.5m unpaid fines

Thousands of notices to appear in court for the non-payment of fines will be issued soon as part of new legislation to crackdown on defaulters.

The Courts Service has confirmed it will shortly begin sending notices to individuals who had fines imposed during 2016 to attend a court hearing over their failure to pay the money.

Figures show more than 41,500 fines worth more than €14.3m issued by the courts last year remain unpaid. The average amount is just under €345.

Almost €5.4m is owed by around 12,600 individuals for fines imposed by District Courts in Dublin and another €1.1m by over 4,000 people who were fined at sittings of Cork District Court.

The introduction of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014, which came into effect in January 2016, has brought fundamental changes to the process of collecting fines, including allowing people to pay fines by instalment over a 12-month period.

The legislation, which is designed to both improve collection rates and reduce the number of people being put in prison for the non-payment of fines, also allows for attachment to earnings, community service and fines being referred to a receiver for enforcement. Prison will only be considered as a last resort for individuals who refuse to pay fines.

District Court judges will begin issuing rulings and sanctions in such cases as defaulters are summoned to appear in court over the coming months.

Figures provided by the Courts Service show over €35.5m in fines imposed by the courts since 2013 remains uncollected to date.

However, the Courts Service said collection rates had increased significantly in recent years as a result of new accounting systems and only around 10% of all fines are now going unpaid.

It is estimated that 45% of all fines went unpaid before the current system was introduced eight years ago.

“This had delivered significant benefits in terms of improved customer service, such as a wider range of payment options and economies of scale with resources in local offices freed up to work on core court business,” a Courts Service spokesperson said.

He claimed the system had resulted in a more focused approach to managing the collection of fines with central office responsibility for the issuing of reminders.

Between 2012 and 2015, some €59m was collected in fines by the Courts Service.

“It is important to appreciate the process of collecting fines from those unwilling to pay them in a timely manner can be spread over a number of years and also involves An Garda Síochána and the Irish Prison Service,” said the spokesperson.

The amount of fines still owed decreases as time goes with only €4.2m still outstanding from fines issued in 2013. Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said last month enforcement of fines issued before the new legislation came into effect was a matter for gardaí.