Decline in jailed fine defaulters drives sharp fall in prison committals

Provisional figures for 2017 show a total of 9,332 committals last year, a 38 per cent drop from 15,099 committals in 2016 and a 46 per cent drop from 17,206 in 2015.

The number of people subject to committals dropped from 14,182 in 2015 to 12,579 in 2016 and 7,810 in 2017.

A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said: “The Irish Prison Service saw a reduction in 2016 in the number of people being committed on fines and there was a dramatic reduction in 2017.

“At stages during 2017 we had situations where he had basically no one committed for non-payment of fines.

“The reduction in committals in 2017 is completely attributable to a significant reduction in people committed to custody for non-payment of fines, up to a 75 per cent decrease in this cohort in 2017 compared to 2016.”

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) said the figures indicated that the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014, which provided for alternatives to custody, was working.

IPRT executive director Deirdre Malone told the Irish Examiner: “These numbers demonstrate that the commencement of the Fines Act 2014 is having a positive effect in reducing prison committals.

“Imprisonment for fines default represented a waste of Garda, Courts and Irish Prison Service time and resources and created an illogical and additional burden on an already strained prison system.

“Ending the practice has significantly reduced unnecessary and damaging committals to prison, as well as saving the taxpayer money.”