Vol. 426 No. 7
105 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who were imprisoned during the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available for non-payment of debt; the average sentence involved; the average sentence served; and if she will make a statement on the other non-custodial penalties which could be introduced to deal with such cases.
The number of persons committed to prison for failure to comply with a court order to make payments in discharge of a civil debt was 219 for the 12 month period from 24 February, 1992 to 23 February, 1993 and the average sentence imposed by the courts was 24 days. The information sought by the Deputy as to the average period spent in custody by such persons is not readily available and could not be obtained without an inordinate expenditure of staff time. It should be noted that the average period spent in custody by debtors would be less than the average period of committal imposed by the courts because, in practice, some debtors make payment either on committal or shortly after committal.
