Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 February 2014
30. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he will be reforming the law in relation to the use of the court poor box, particularly for persons charged with road traffic offences. [5337/14]
View answerAt its meeting yesterday, the Government approved the drafting of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill, which will replace the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 with modern provisions dealing with community sanctions and the role of the Probation Service in the criminal justice system. The details of the proposed Bill will be announced in due course. It is intended that the legislation will provide for a transparent statutory Reparation Fund to replace the Court Poor Box, as recommended by the Law Reform Commission in its 2005 report The Court Poor Box: Probation of Offenders. I will consider the issue of the applicability of the Reparation Fund provisions to road traffic offences during the drafting of the Bill, in consultation with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
