Almost €50m in court fines not yet recovered
A third of the value of fines imposed by the courts over the last six years has not been recovered, as yet,
Some 462,000 fines were handed down, worth almost €147m, between January 2011 and December 2016.
A total of 197,000 fines were not paid with €48.5m still outstanding, according to the data recorded on the Courts Service Case Tracking System (CCTS).
Jim O’Callaghan, Fianna Fáil justice spokesman to whom the figures were released, said failure to collect fines had a detrimental impact on the criminal justice system.
“The effectiveness of that system will be undermined if people believe that court fines need not be paid,” he said. “It is essential that all fines imposed by courts are pursued. The law at present is strong enough to ensure collection and there is no legitimate excuse for non-collection.”
The State has still not recouped almost 21,000 fines worth more than €7.5m which were imposed in 2011. And just €6.7m of the €23m in penalties imposed by the courts in 2016 was recovered.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the treatment of fines falls into two categories — those imposed prior to the commencement of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 in January 2016, and fines imposed thereafter.
“In relation to fines imposed prior to the commencement of the act, warrants for the enforcement of fines imposed in 2013 and 2014 have been issued to An Garda Síochána,” she said.
“The issue of fines warrants for unpaid fines, in respect of fines imposed in 2015, commenced from mid-2015 and continued on a monthly basis as fines became due for payment.
“Where a warrant for the enforcement of fines due is issued to An Garda Síochána, the fine may be collected and paid to the Courts Service. In some instances, the person fined may have been lodged in prison in default of payment of fine or the fines warrant may have been cancelled following an application to the court.”
She said in relation to those in prison in default of paying their fines, the Prison Service provides details which are updated to CCTS.
“Currently in excess of 15,000 warrants with a total value of over €5m await update to the CCTS,” she said. In relation to fines imposed in 2016, the vast majority fell for enforcement under the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014, she added.
“The Courts Service has undertaken an extensive ICT development programme to enhance the CCTS to provide for the payment of fines by instalment and, additionally, to provide for the enforcement provisions provided for in the act.
“The Courts Service is now in a position to commence issuing notices to persons to attend court for imposition of appropriate sanctions in default of payment.”
