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equatingwith twelve months imprisonment (maximumpenaltyon summaryconviction of
indictable offence), fortyhours equates with two months imprisonment or sixtydays. The
default periodof imprisonment for adults on non-payment of a fine rarelyextends beyond
the period of forty-five days imprisonment. 57 In fact, for the normal run-of-the-mill
offences which attract fines such as public order offences andassaults, fine default periods
are usuallyfifteen days imprisonment. 58 Accordinglythe use of even the minimumperiod
of communityservice for fine default bya sixteen or seventeen year old extends the
potential level of punitiveness in respect of those offenders than wouldbe the case for
adult offenders. Moreover, the possibilityof usingcommunityservice orders in respect of
sixteen/seventeen year old fine defaulters mayclash with the literal andpurposive
construction of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (CommunityService) Act, 1983 which
provides:
Section 2.- This Act applies to a person (in this Act referredto as an “offender”) who is
of or over the age of 16 years and is convictedof an offence for which , in the opinion
of the court, the appropriate sentence wouldbut for this Act be one of penal servitude,
of imprisonment or of detention in St. Patrick’s Institution, but does not applywhere
anysuch sentence is fixed bylaw.
For ease of reference, section 3 of the same Act shouldbe readtogether with section 2. This
provides:
Section 3.-
1) Subject to section 4, the court by or before which an offender is convicted may,
instead of dealing with him in any other way, make, in respect of the offence of
which he is convicted, an order (in this Act referred to as a “community service
order”) under this section.
2) A community service order shall require the offender to perform, in accordance
with this Act, unpaid work for such number of hours as are specified in the order
andare not less than 40 andnot more than 240.
3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing a court which makes a
community service order from making, in relation to the offence in respect of
which the order is made, an order under anyother enactment for-
57 Ord.23 Rule7 Of the District Court Rules 1997 (S.I.93/1997) provides:
Where a penalty has been imposed against a person such person shall in default of payment within the time specified (if any) be imprisoned for a term not exceeding the
appropriate periodspecifiedin the followingscale:
Penalty
1. Not exceeding£50 - 5 days imprisonment
2. Exceeding£50
but not exceeding£250 -15 days imprisonment
3. Exceeding£250
but not exceeding£500 - 45 days imprisonment
4. Exceeding£500 -90 days imprisonment
58 The vast majorityof fines in the District Court are under €300 (Ryan andRiordan 2004)
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