Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions, which include the provision of information on the courts system. In order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had inquiries made and the Courts Service has provided the available information in relation to the prosecution of persons for non payment of a TV licence for the period requested which is set out in the first table included with this reply. As the Deputy will be aware, the initiation of a prosecution for non-payment of a TV licence is a matter for An Post, which does not operate under the aegis of my Department.
|
Year
|
No. of persons whose case was heard by the court
|
No. of persons who initially received a custodial sentence
|
No. of persons who received a fine
|
No. of persons where a fines warrant issued for non-payment of fine
|
|
2009
|
6,533
|
0
|
4,349
|
2,716
|
|
2010
|
8,153
|
0
|
4,513
|
2,749
|
|
2011
|
8,436
|
0
|
4,289
|
2,673
|
|
2012
|
8,328
|
0
|
4,139
|
2,929
|
|
2013
|
6,533
|
0
|
4,786
|
1,916
|
In the above table, a person who received more than one prosecution in one year is reported once. The execution of the warrants issued may have resulted in custodial sentences being imposed for non-payment of the fines, but this information is not available from Courts Service statistics. Warrants could still issue in relation to some fines imposed in 2013 if the due date for payment has not yet expired. The Irish Prison Service has also provided details of the number of people imprisoned for the non-payment of a TV licence following the execution of a warrant in the period concerned, as set out in the following table:
|
Year
|
No. of persons imprisoned for non payment of TV Licence
|
|
2009
|
75
|
|
2010
|
152
|
|
2011
|
183
|
|
2012
|
272
|
|
2013
|
411
|
The number of prisoners who are in prison for non-payment of a court ordered fine, including those imprisoned for the non-payment of a TV licence, is a tiny fraction of the overall prisoner population. To illustrate this point, on 28 February 2014, nine people or 0.22%, out of a prison population of 4,086 were in custody for non-payment of fines. None of them was in custody as a result of the non-payment of a TV licence. The average cost of accommodating a typical fine defaulter based on the 2012 Cost of Offender figures (including variable costs of prisoner catering, prisoner gratuity, bedding, prisoner toiletries, dentist fees and medicines) equates to €10.44 per prisoner space per day.
