Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014

Interpretation

2. (1) In this Act— “Act of 1983” means the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act 1983 ;

“Act of 1986” means the Courts (No. 2) Act 1986 ;

“administration fee” means the administration fee referred to in section 6 (4) required to be paid by a fined person who has opted to pay the fine by instalments under section 6 (1)(a)(ii);

“appropriate court official”—

(a) in relation to a fine imposed by the District Court, means the district court clerk for the district court area in which the fine was imposed,

(b) in relation to a fine imposed by the Circuit Court, means the county registrar for the county in which the fine was imposed or, if a combined court office has been established under the Courts and Court Officers Act 2009 in respect of that county, the manager of that combined court office,

(c) in relation to a fine imposed by the High Court, means the principal officer serving in the Central Office attached to the High Court who manages such Central Office, and

(d) in relation to a fine imposed by the Central Criminal Court, means the registrar of the Central Criminal Court;

“attachment order” means an order under section 14 (1), including such an order as varied under section 14 (4)(a);

“community service order” shall be construed in accordance with section 3(1A) (inserted by section 19 (1)(c)(i)) of the Act of 1983;

“contract of employment” means—

(a) a contract of service or apprenticeship, or

(b) any other contract whereby an individual agrees with another person, who is carrying on the business of an employment agency within the meaning of the Employment Agency Act 1971 and is acting in the course of that business, to do or perform personally any work or service for a third person (whether or not the third person is a party to the contract);

“due date for payment”, in relation to a fine, means—

(a) if the fined person has opted to pay the full fine under section 6 (1)(a)(i), the date by which the fine is required to be paid in accordance with the order of the court that imposed the fine, and

(b) if the fined person has opted to pay the fine by instalments under section 6 (1)(a)(ii), in respect of each such instalment, the date by which the instalment is required to be paid;

“employer”, in relation to a fined person, means a person who employs the fined person under a contract of employment, and includes a trustee of a pension scheme under which the fined person receives periodical pension benefits;

“enactment” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Fines Act 2010 ;

“financial circumstances”, in relation to a person who has been convicted of an offence, means—

(a) the amount of the person’s annual income,

(b) the aggregate value of all property (real and personal) belonging to the person,

(c) the aggregate amount of all liabilities of the person including any duty (moral or legal) to provide financially for members of his or her family or other persons,

(d) the aggregate of all monies owing to the person, the dates upon which they fall due to be paid and the likelihood of their being paid, and

(e) such other circumstances as the court considers appropriate;

“fine” means a fine imposed by a court on a person consequent upon his or her being convicted of an offence by that court, and includes any costs, compensation or expenses, in addition to the fine, that the court orders the person to pay;

“fined person” means a person on whom a court has imposed a fine and, in relation to a recovery order or attachment order, means such person the subject of the order;

“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;

“personal public service number” has the meaning assigned to it by section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“receiver” means an approved person or sheriff appointed under section 8 (1)(a) and, in relation to a fined person, means the person who has been so appointed in respect of the fined person;

“recovery order” means an order under section 8 (1)(a) and, in relation to a receiver, means such order under which the receiver is appointed.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), where a fined person has opted to pay the fine by instalments under section 6 (1)(a)(ii), references in this Act to the payment of the fine include references to the payment of the related administration fee, and the other provisions of this Act shall, with all necessary modifications, be construed accordingly, except that all monies applied towards any such payment shall, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as being applied towards the payment of the fine and, after the fine has been paid in full, only then towards the payment of the administration fee.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply in any case where a court is, under a provision of this Act, considering, in respect of a fined person where all or part of the fine has not been paid, making a community service order in respect of the person or committing the person to prison in accordance with section 2 or 2A of the Act of 1986.

(4) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) the person by whom an employee of a public body, within the meaning of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 , is paid in accordance with the employee’s contract of employment with that public body is deemed to be the employee’s employer, and

(b) a person who is otherwise a member of staff of a public body, within the meaning of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 , is deemed to be employed under a contract of employment, and the person by whom he or she is paid in accordance with the terms and conditions of his or her service is deemed to be his or her employer.