Vol. 473 No. 4
407 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Justice the total number of court fines under petition with her Department; the status of such petitions; the number of petitions which have been dealt with in 1996; the average waiting period for a decision on petitions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1030/97]
408 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the uncertainty regarding the status of petitions in her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1031/97]
409 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Justice whether any warrants in respect of court fines have been issued and executed in relation to fines which were under petition in her Department in 1996; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1032/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 407, 408 and 409 together.
As regards petitions generally, I will be setting new guidelines shortly which will take account of the Geoghegan High Court judgment on petitions and which will assist both members of the public and public representatives to ascertain if there is a case to petition or not. In the meantime petitions continue to be accepted and my decisions on petitions take into consideration the provisions of the judgment.
During 1996 a total of 295 petitions were finalised. Statistics in relation to petitions are maintained by reference to petitions rather than the individual penalties petitioned. There are just over 5,000 petitions on hand at present.
Statistics in relation to cases where warrants have been executed while a petition result is still pending are not kept. In relation to the status of a fine which is the subject of a petition, I should explain that a petition does not place a stay on the order of the District Court judge. Notwithstanding the fact that a petition has been lodged by, or on, the defendant's behalf, if the fine is not paid within the time allowed by the judge, a warrant will be issued to enforce the court's decision as is the normal procedure in cases where fines are not paid on time. Section 1 (1) of the Courts (No. 2) Act, 1991 provides that a warrant must be issued within six months of the due date of payment of the fine imposed. However, while there is no statutory requirement of the Garda Síochána to defer enforcement of a warrant in respect of a fine which is under petition, it is normal practice for them to do so upon production of an official acknowledgement of petition and to await the outcome of a petition.
