Record number of prison committals in 2015

There were a total of 17,420 prison committals last year, topping a previous record of 17,319 in 2011, with 9,800 of the committals related to non-payment of court fines.

However, committals have taken a sharp downturn following the enactment of the Fines Act 2014 in January, The Irish Times reports.

A source told the newspaper: “The number of fine defaulters being processed is down by as much as 55 per cent in the last few weeks.”

The Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 provides for the payment of fines over €100 through instalments paid at local post offices, and empowers judges to make an Attachment Order before resorting to imprisonment.

If it is not appropriate to make an Attachment Order, the judge can make either a Recovery Order, where the fine is more than €500, or a Community Service Order.

Imprisonment will only apply where none of these options are appropriate or the person fails to comply with it.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said in January the changes would mean the “number of persons imprisoned for the non-payment of fines in the future will be greatly reduced”.