Fines Act 2010

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Payment of fines by instalments.

15.— (1) If, upon the application of a person on whom a court has imposed a fine, the court is satisfied that to require the person to pay the fine in full by the due date for payment would cause undue financial hardship to the person or his or her dependants, the court may direct that the fine be paid by instalments.

(2) Where a court gives a direction under subsection (1)—

(a) the amounts of the instalments and the intervals at which they are to be paid shall, without prejudice to paragraph (b), be specified in the direction, and

(b) the person to whom the direction applies shall, subject to subsection (3), pay the final instalment of the fine concerned not later than one year, or such shorter period as the court may specify, after the due date for payment.

(3) Upon the application of a person to whom a direction under subsection (1) applies, the court that gave the direction may, by further direction—

(a) extend the period for payment of the fine for such period as it considers appropriate provided that such period shall expire not later than 2 years after the due date for payment, and

(b) in consequence of that extension (but without prejudice to paragraph (a)), vary the amounts of the instalments concerned and the intervals at which they are to be paid.

(4) A court shall not extend a period for payment of a fine under subsection (3) unless it is satisfied that—

(a) the financial circumstances of the person in respect of whom the extension concerned is granted have changed to the extent that requiring him or her to comply with subsection (2) would cause undue financial hardship to the person or his or her dependants, and

(b) the change in the person’s financial circumstances is not due to his or her culpable neglect.

(5) An application referred to in subsection (3) shall—

(a) be made as soon as may be after the change in the person’s financial circumstances has occurred and—

(i) before the expiration of the period of one year referred to in subsection (2), or

(ii) where the court specifies a shorter period in accordance with the said subsection (2), before the expiration of the period so specified,

and

(b) be notified in writing by the person to the Courts Service not later than 7 days before the making of the application.

(6) A court shall, when imposing a fine on a person, inform the person of his or her entitlement to make an application referred to in subsection (1).

(7) An application referred to in subsection (1) may be made at any time before the notification of the receiver under subsection (2) of section 16 .

(8) This section shall only apply to fines that are greater than €100.

(9) In this section “due date for payment” means, in relation to a fine, the date by which the fine would, but for a direction under this section, be required to be paid in accordance with the order of the court that imposed the fine.