Explainer: Fines

27th February 2024

What is a fine?  

A fine is the amount of money a judge decides that a person has to pay as punishment for an offence. The court sets out the amount to be paid and the number of days allowed to make payment. (read more here)  

When can a fine be imposed? 

Fines are most frequently used in less serious ("summary") offences.  

There is a scale of maximum fines, depending on the specific offence. There are categories/classes of maximum fines for less serious ("summary") offences. The table sets out the maximum fine for each "class":

Laws on specific offences state what "class" applies to a specific offence.  

What is the legal basis for a fine? 

Fines are imposed under the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 (‘the Fines Act’).

The Fines Act provides that a fine will be set at a level that takes into account the person's financial circumstances. 

The Supreme Court noted in 2019 that the options available under the Fines Act are intended to reduce the number imprisoned over the failure to pay a fine imposed following a court procedure.

Factors in setting the fine 

The judge decides the amount of the fine after considering a number of factors. Factors include: the seriousness of the offence, the person's degree of guilt, the person's co-operation with the court and any relevant previous offences. 

The judge must consider the person's financial circumstances – this means the judge will consider: 

• The person's annual income 
• The value of their property 
• Amount of the person's liabilities, including financial obligations to family and other people 
• Money owed to the person 

It is an offence not to provide information or to provide false or misleading information about their financial circumstances. The penalty is a maximum of €4,000 or six-months' imprisonment.  

Paying the fine 

If a person is ordered to pay a fine, they have the option to pay in full or by instalment (if the amount is more than €100). 

Payment in full 

Payment in full can be made at any court office, post office, or online within the time allowed by the judge. 

Payment by instalment 

Instalment payments should be made through An Post. 

A first instalment of 10 per cent must be made within 42 days (six weeks) of the fine being imposed by the court. The person then has one year and 42 days to pay the full fine in 12 further instalments. The person will receive a payment plan after they pay the first instalment.  

If the first instalment is not paid within six weeks of the fine being imposed, the person must pay the full amount of the fine and cannot pay by instalment.  

If a fine is not paid 

If the fine remains unpaid or if the person does not pay an installment by the due date, the person will receive a "fines enforcement notice". This will tell the person the date and time that they must attend another hearing and require the person to provide a written statement of their financial circumstances. 

At the hearing the person will be given an opportunity to pay the outstanding fine in full or the judge may decide to impose one of the following: 

• Attachment of earnings (if the person is employed) 
• Community service 
• Imprisonment – the term may be between five and 30 days 

Statistics on how often fines are used in Ireland (where available). 

The number of fines imposed by the courts in 2022 was 60,024, and the value of the fines imposed was approximately €18.7 million.  

The number of committals to prison for the non-payment of court-ordered fines has declined since the introduction of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014.  In 2014, over 55% of the total committals to prison that year were for fines default: 8,979 committals out of a total 16,155 committals. In the 2022 annual report of the Irish Prison Service, this number is now 205, of which 77.6% were male and 22.4% were female.