The annual statistical bulletin on Northern Ireland’s prison population reveals that 627 people were jailed for defaulting on a fine last year, up from 456 in 2015, and almost five times the 2014 figure of 139.

However, the total number still accounts for just 0.5 per cent of the Northern Ireland prison population.

Doug Beattie, justice spokesperson for the Ulster Unionist Party, told the Belfast Telegraph: “I think we all have to agree that handing out custodial sentences for defaulting on a fine is a bit extreme. There should be a better method dealing with it.

“However, we do know for example that some drug dealers are escaping custodial sentences. But, in most cases giving out jail terms for failing to pay fines is harsh and extreme. We need better tools in the justice system to deal with it.

“As well as that, with the finite resources that we have within the justice system, we should avoid putting the Prison Service under pressure.”