Fitzpatrick is still out and about though!

How many people have been sent to prison for creating the situation where people are being convicted for not paying these fines?

I would like to see the breakdown of what the fines were for.

18 TDs will be jailed in the new year for not paying the property tax!

More than likely the reason for the increase is because the Gardai were told to go and collect fines where court judgements had been made against people and payment had not been made. They are left with no choice but to imprison anybody who either cannot or will not pay their fines. Our police force are slowly being turned into tax collectors because the state needs money. This is obviously counterproductive in lots of ways, they are employed to fight crime – (I know it’s an offence not to pay a fine ) but how much is collected over and above the cost of transporting and housing the non payers in our already overcrowded prisons. Our government really need to cop on and change the system rather than just waste money for the sake of getting numbers up for their statistics reports.

As a rule of thumb if you are jailed for non-payment of fines you can expect to be locked up for a number of hours. About 2-4hrs for initial processing, followed by around 1hr for each €100 you owe. When released you will be left with a civil record rather than a criminal record, which does not inflict any restriction on international travel.

How about one of those highly paid justice department secretaries implementing a system of garnering fines and outstanding taxes at source from bank accounts/wages/social welfare. The yanks have been doing it for years. Waste of resources sending people to prison. In and out the same day.

How about deducting the fine by reducing tax credits or welfare payment….you do the crime u pay the fine!!!! But its rediculous jailing people for not paying TV license! Surely this costs the tax payer more than the cost of the fine…crazy stuff!!!

That’s one way to kick start the construction again there going to need more prison places after we all get done for not paying household charges. Bring it on , I’d say some people are looking forward to it so that they can be sure of 3 meals a day .

I know of someone recently who spent two days in Cork for a fine (no DOE) he did not have the money to pay. He turned up at his local Gardai station as requested and was then driven to Cork jail by two Gardai who to rub salt into the wounds spoke of their overtime perks courtesy of the recent visits of Obama and the Queen.

The jail had no knowledge of this person so was he moved from cell to cell meeting several other people in the couple of days he spent there. They to were also in Jail for non payment of fines.

I see no purpose to such a costly exercise and even the person in question said he would have preferred to have donated the same time to a community project thus giving something back rather than costing the taxpayer for a wasteful taxi ride courtesy of the Gardai.

Doubt if any that 7,000 contained Political,Banking or Developer elite. Like taxes prison is for the little people.(“taxes are for the little people”quote from former American Heiress Leona Hemsly.She said that along time ago,seems to be spot on in Ireland today though.

As far as Seanie fitz and the rest ,from last week DPP is still yet to direct prosecution..but I d like to see the figures on social welfare fraud, stopping these fines at source because again they know it’s all another scam,, why would you pay a fine when the prisons are so packed it’s like a rotating door in for 2 hours and out again., and the ppl who are doing this are well away this is it’s current state.. Think about this if fines were properly stopped at source be it paye or social welfare based on pps numbers maybe there would be less of burden on those who do the right thing and have a few morels still left..Whole system needs to be scrapped and revamped!!!!!!

And by the looks of things with all the austerity cut backs and home tax there will be a he’ll if a lit of us in Jail next year

I hav loads of unpaid fines & I’m never paying them. Let them lock me up & waste their money I don’t care!

Where do the judges get the time to deal with making committal orders for minor offences? We hear every day how the courts are so backlogged that judges can’t clear their lists and are sitting extra hours just to keep us safe in our beds. Very busy gentlemen indeed.

Fine story

I work with people from a certain area of Dublin and their friends would rather spend a short stint in jail than pay fines. It’s like a wee holiday for them where they get to see some of their mates. It’s a waste of tax money sending most people to prison, they just come out and repeat the same crimes again.

Too many