Insult to victims as criminals fail to pay up €15m in court fines

‘It’s an insult to the victims’ Take it from their dole or pensions

CONVICTED criminals failed to pay more than €15million in court fines last year, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.

Alarmingly, burglars who avoided jail terms are among them, even though ‘draconian’ measures have been introduced to ensure the guilty pay up.

In fact, as much as one third of all fines imposed on burglars between January and December last year went unpaid. Now campaign groups, who believe the situation is an ‘insult to victims’, say fines should be taken from criminals’ wages – and if they don’t work, their dole or their pensions could be targeted.

Alison De Vere Hunt, of Victims of Crime, told the Mail: ‘We want to feel protected in our homes and our businesses – we’re entitled to that.’

The shocking figures emerged when Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan admitted to Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan, in recent days, that last year 45,720 convicted criminals avoided paying fines totalling €15.5million. Of those, 144 who were convicted of the serious crime of burglary dodged payments totalling €38,150.

Ms De Vere Hunt, who helps run the Tipperary-based campaign group, told the Mail that it was an ‘insult to the victims’ when fines continue to go unpaid.

The 30-year-old livestock mart boss who lives in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, was a victim of burglary herself, and she told the Mail: ‘It’s a mockery, what’s going on. Them not paying shows complete lack of respect for the system – and then for it not to be collected, it’s an insult to the victims. Who is on the side of the victim?

‘There is profit from crime, so why can’t the fines be taken from people on social welfare as well as those who earn a living? We feel quite strongly about that.’

Their group is also calling for the electronic tagging of repeat offenders if they are allowed out on bail.

‘If they were tagged, we’d know where they are,’ Ms De Vere White said.

Criminals – even burglars – avoid stiffer sentences when judges believe they deserve a another chance. In certain burglary cases, fines as high as €3,000 have been imposed as an alternative to prison, although the average is closer to €300.

Minister Flanagan told Mr O’Callaghan: ‘I have asked my department to closely monitor the position with a view to ensuring a comprehensive response to the problem of accumulated unpaid fines.’

Figures released this time last year showed that over 196,000 convicted criminals had failed to pay €48.5million in court-imposed fines between 2011 and 2016.

A Courts Service spokesman said the collection of fines is a ‘rolling’ process that continues over time.

He said: ‘Ireland has a high collection rate... ultimately 75% to 80% over time. If a person fails to pay a fine, following reminders and having been allowed to pay by instalments, they can be summoned back to court. The judge can then impose an attachment order to their earnings. They could also face a community service order or a prison sentence.’

Victims of Crime was founded in the wake of a ‘terrifying’ aggravated burglary on the Tipperary home of Mark and Emma Corcoran in 2013, for which a Dublin gang of seven were jailed for a total of 105 years in 2015. Last year, two of the raiders had their 20-year sentences reduced to 18 years on appeal.

Run by 20 victims of crime, the campaign group’s president, solicitor Kieran Cleary – who represented the Corcorans following their horrific ordeal – said collecting fines from social welfare or even pensions is ‘not controversial... we all should be paying our way in life.’

The Fines Payment and Recovery Act, introduced in 2016 and in full operation by late last year, allows judges to ‘attach’ payment orders to a criminal’s wages if they don’t pay voluntarily. It also allows for fines to be referred to a receiver for enforcement.

But if they are unemployed, there is currently no direct way of guaranteeing that they do pay up. A prison term – instead of paying the fine – is now considered a ‘last resort’. Community service orders can also be imposed.