THE PUBLIC will be able to pay court fines over the internet under a new system that will be available across the country by the middle of next year.
Some 40 per cent of fines went uncollected last year and the Courts Service hopes the system, which will cost €1 million to set up, will increase the collection rate while reducing administration costs.
Until recently charges had to be settled by cheque, postal order or cash to the court office dealing with the offence. But under the new Courts Accounting System, people will have the option of paying all types of fines online.
It will also allow family law payments to be received electronically.
The system has been piloted in some offices over the past few months and is already used in 13 venues, including Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick.
Officials believe that with fewer people using chequebooks today, there is a big demand for online payment services.
Uptake has been high in pilot areas, with 70 per cent of people opting for electronic transfer of family law payments and 1,321 fines having been paid through the online form.
The annual value of fines imposed by the courts last year was some €35 million, with an average national collection rate of 60 per cent.
Seán Quigley, director of finance for the Courts Service, said international evidence showed it was possible to increase that to 80 per cent.
Every 5 per cent improvement in the collection rate generates about €1.75 million. "If we got it up to 80 per cent, that would mean about an additional €8 million a year for the exchequer," he said.
However, court officials point out that responsibility for collecting fines is shared with the Garda Síochána, and discussions are ongoing with the Department of Justice with regard to improving procedures.
The Courts Service estimates the new system will bring savings in work-hours of over €1 million a year, which means it will have paid for itself within 12 months.
Mr Quigley said: "This new system allows us offer court users across the country choice and ease of access in relation to financial dealings with the courts.
"It will make it easier to pay fines and will speed up payments in the family law area. The system allows immediate access to paying fees in the small claims procedure and also allow us automatically refund bail monies once a case is ended.
"As well as being an investment in our service to citizens, it will also be about efficiencies in terms of time and cost."
The Courts Service believes the new system will also be more reliable and less prone to fraud.
It is already operating in 13 venues and is to be introduced in a further four between now and October. It is expected to be fully operational nationwide within a year.
The State's 40 district courts deal with over 700,000 financial transactions every year, including fines, bail and family law payments.
The online fine payments system can be accessed at the Courts Service website, www.courts.ie.
