Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 February 2012
475 Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who were imprisoned here for each year from 2008 to 2011, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7598/12]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table. Figures are taken from the Annual Reports for the Irish Prison Service.
|
Year |
Total Persons committed |
|
2008 |
7,140 |
|
2009 |
9,371 |
|
2010 |
10,877 |
|
2011* |
11,285 |
*The 2011 figure is provisional pending the publication of the Irish Prison Service Annual Report.
There has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population in Ireland over recent years. The problem of prison overcrowding therefore remains a challenging issue which unfortunately cannot be resolved overnight.
I share the view of the Thornton Hall Review Group that decisive action is required on a number of fronts in order to address the problem of overcrowding and poor physical conditions particularly in Mountjoy and Cork Prisons. Whilst the reduced capital envelope for this year will not allow the Prison Service to proceed with the construction of Thornton Hall or Kilworth prisons, this does not signal a reversal of the Government's decision last year to approve in principle the recommendations contained in the Thornton Hall Review Group Report. It has been necessary to defer the commencement of these projects but it is my strong intention to revisit the timeframe for their delivery later this year.
I am also continuing to pursue alternatives to custody and progress is being made. The Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Act 2011 requires the sentencing judge to consider the imposition of community service where a custodial sentence of 12 months or less is being considered. A number of key recommendations contained in the Thornton Hall Review Group Report are also receiving priority attention in my Department and many are in the process of being implemented, most notably the introduction of an incentivised scheme for earned temporary release under which offenders who pose no threat to the community are offered early temporary release in return for supervised community service. In this regard, a six month pilot project commenced in October 2011 in which it is envisaged that a total of 130 prisoners will participate.
The Fines Act 2010 introduced measures to prevent the automatic imprisonment of fine defaulters. I intend to bring forward new legislative proposals to introduce a system of "attachment orders" allowing a small amount of money to be taken from wages or social welfare facilitating the payment of the debt or fine over time. The concept of restorative justice also has a place in the range of non-custodial options which are available for use by the courts. The Deputy can be assured that my focus is to encourage the use of such options to the greatest extent possible.
476 Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who were imprisoned here for each year from 2008 to 2011, inclusive, for the non-payment of fines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7599/12]
View answerA breakdown of the number of persons imprisoned for non-payment of fines for each of the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 is set out in the following table:
|
Year |
Number of Persons |
|
2008 |
2,344 |
|
2009 |
4,350 |
|
2010 |
5,995 |
|
2011* |
6,725 |
*The 2011 figures are provisional pending the publication of the Irish Prison Service Annual Report.
I can advise the Deputy that the number of such persons held in custody at any one time is a tiny fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point, on 13 February, 2012 there were 22 persons or 0.5 percent of the numbers in prison custody that fell into this category.
The Deputy may also wish to note that the Fines Act 2010 includes a number of provisions designed to minimise the level of fine default and where it does occur, to ensure, as far as possible, that fine defaulters are not committed to prison. In particular, under Section 14 of the Act, the court must consider the financial circumstances of the person before the amount of the fine is determined. There are also provisions in the Act, that I intend to commence in 2012, allowing for the payment of fines by instalments; the appointment of receivers to recover outstanding fines (or property to the value of those fines); and the substitution of community service orders for fines, where they remain unpaid after the receiver has completed his or her work.
I am also committed to pursuing alternatives to custody. The Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Act 2011 commenced on 1 October last and requires judges when considering imposing a sentence of imprisonment of 12 months or less to first consider the appropriateness of community service as an alternative to imprisonment. I expect that these measures, taken together, will all but eliminate the need to commit persons to prison for non-payment of fines.
