Woman who failed to pay TV licence fine taken to jail in five-hour taxi trip

Lapin

This really takes the piss.

From the Indo -

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woman-who-failed-to-pay-tv-licence-fine-taken-to-jail-in-fivehour-taxi-trip-31029231.html

One woman, who was driven from east Donegal to Dublin, told the Irish Independent how two gardai arrived at her home at 7.10am and arrested her. She had paid €212 of a €450 court fine issued for not having a TV licence.

"I had been paying off the fine and I wanted to finish the payment so I was taken aback to see gardaí at my door.

In her case alone, the estimated cost of the arrest was €1,000 including €300 for the taxi, garda hours costing around €400, meals, the €20 bus fare and the loss of the entire €238 owed in fines.

Not often I'm stuck for words, but this one really left me speechless.

Someone's head needs to roll here. If anything like this happened in the private sector, there would be P45s issued to whoever signed off on a waste of resources on this scale.

kneemos

Have to obey court orders or all hell breaks out.

Lapin

No such thing as cop on then ?

shamrock55

This country really is a joke

Un Croissant

Only in Ireland.

Did I get that right?

Harry Palmr

Crazy ****, why didn't they just lock her up in a local station cell for 5 hours and save the fair? We're all paying for this glorified taxi service!























Oh and jailing people for non payment of fines is an outrage anyway of course.

The Backwards Man

Lapin wrote: »

This really takes the piss.

From the Indo -

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woman-who-failed-to-pay-tv-licence-fine-taken-to-jail-in-fivehour-taxi-trip-31029231.html

One woman, who was driven from east Donegal to Dublin, told the Irish Independent how two gardai arrived at her home at 7.10am and arrested her. She had paid €212 of a €450 court fine issued for not having a TV licence.

"I had been paying off the fine and I wanted to finish the payment so I was taken aback to see gardaí at my door.

In her case alone, the estimated cost of the arrest was €1,000 including €300 for the taxi, garda hours costing around €400, meals, the €20 bus fare and the loss of the entire €238 owed in fines.

Not often I'm stuck for words, but this one really left me speechless.

Someone's head needs to roll here. If anything like this happened in the private sector, there would be P45s issued to whoever signed off on a waste of resources on this scale.

You obviously have no experience of working with the HSE

S. Goodspeed

At least now she can watch Fair City and other top quality productions with peace of mind

mass_debater

She should pay for the fcukin licence then like the rest of us and not wasting state funds paid by us taxpayers

kneemos

She'd been to court,gotten a fine and a time to pay or jail time.

SIMPLES.

The Backwards Man

mass_debater wrote: »

She should pay for the fcukin licence then like the rest of us and not wasting state funds paid by us taxpayers

She wasn't jailed for not paying the TV licence, but the baying mob always overlook the facts.

Bubbaclaus

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Oh and jailing people for non payment of fines is an outrage anyway of course.

How to you punish them instead? Fine them again?

Captain Chaos

mass_debater wrote: »

She should pay for the fcukin licence then like the rest of us and not wasting state funds paid by us taxpayers

Just do a property tax on it and take it directly from wages before you even get the money.

The broadcasting charge is just going to be a blanket tax like property tax and water tax anyway.

Blanket taxes for everyone, got to pay back the IMF for the next 400 years.

mass_debater

The Backwards Man wrote: »

She wasn't jailed for not paying the TV licence, but the baying mob always overlook the facts.

No, she was jailed for not paying the fine she received in court for not paying the licence fee. She should just buy a licence like the rest of us have to

Tearin It Up

5 hour taxi trip to prison to spend 3 hours there.

And she was given the bus fare home. They wouldn't even take her home again.

kneemos

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Just do a property tax on it and take it directly from wages before you even get the money.

The broadcasting charge is just going to be a blanket tax like property tax anyway.

Blanket tax for everyone, got to pay back the IMF for the next 400 years.

Been cancelled.

Zaph

The Backwards Man wrote: »

She wasn't jailed for not paying the TV licence, but the baying mob always overlook the facts.

But had she paid for the licence in the first place the whole courts process would have been unnecessary. She paid €212 of the fine. A licence is only €160, so she could have saved herself money and inconvenience on top of what the state would have saved.

Yawns

A licence is €160 a year, she could have saved herself a lot depending on how long it's been since she paid it.

suicide_circus

Is there no prison closer to donegal than dublin?

whiskeyman

5 hours in a taxi?


I'm surprised no one thinks this poor woman has been punished enough!
5 hours of Joe Duffy style chatting, political opinions and general shyte talk....

Harry Palmr

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

How to you punish them instead? Fine them again?

The money can be recovered in 99% of cases from - social welfare payments, wages or savings. It can be done humanly - say 10% of income payment every week until paid off. Sure its a bit "technical" but sending people to jail for this kind of thing is really betrays a desperate lack of imagination.

Jawgap

She should've paid her TV licence.

The only question here is why she is being billed for the cost of the transfer.

kneemos

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The money can be recovered in 99% of cases from - social welfare payments, wages or savings. It can be done humanly - say 10% of income payment every week until paid off. Sure its a bit "technical" but sending people to jail for this kind of thing is really betrays a desperate lack of imagination.

We don't have the legislation to deduct from peoples wages or welfare.

Lapin

The Backwards Man wrote: »

You obviously have no experience of working with the HSE

Very little.

The only state bodies I've worked with are the Department of Education here, and the BBC over yonder.

I have never seen such a waste of money and manpower in either.

Harry Palmr

kneemos wrote: »

We don't have the legislation to deduct from peoples wages or welfare.

Well that's what the legislature is for!

Specialun

Nice cushie earner for the taxi driver

I bet:

1/4 related to a guard
9/4 overcharged and nobody questioned
10/1 complete random stranger

kneemos

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Well that's what the legislature is for!

Indeed.

Captain Chaos

kneemos wrote: »

We don't have the legislation to deduct from peoples wages or welfare.

Yes we do. I know a few people who are having their property tax taken directly from wages.

And once welfare deducted money from my welfare for a mistake over payment that they made, I brought it to their attention at the time and I was told not to worry about it, it was correct. 3 months later they threaten to take legal action against me! Then they just deducted straight from the source.

The public sector is a joke.

kneemos

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Yes we do. I know a few people who are having their property tax taken directly from wages.

And once welfare deducted money from my welfare for a mistake over payment they made and I was told not to worry about it, it was correct. 3 months later they threaten to take legal action against me! Then they just deducted straight from the source.

The public sector is a joke.

Revenue are controlling property tax afaik.

Jawgap

Specialun wrote: »

Nice cushie earner for the taxi driver

I bet:

1/4 related to a guard
9/4 overcharged and nobody questioned
10/1 complete random stranger

I bet you're wrong - it was a nice earner, but it won't have been done on the meter and will have been done under contract. They didn't just ring up the local cab firm or walk out and hail a taxi.

FalconGirl

An absolute waste of taxpayer funds ffs. She should have been locked in a cell in Donegal for a few hours. Seriously, decision making by public officials is a joke here. Heads should roll.

shamrock55

kneemos wrote: »

We don't have the legislation to deduct from peoples wages or welfare.

We do if you dont pay your house tax

Lapin

Jawgap wrote: »

I bet you're wrong - it was a nice earner, but it won't have been done on the meter and will have been done under contract. They didn't just ring up the local cab firm or walk out and hail a taxi.

I bet the contract holder is known to the Gardaí though.

And not in the negative sense of that phrase

who the fug

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Just do a property tax on it and take it directly from wages before you even get the money.

The broadcasting charge is just going to be a blanket tax like property tax and water tax anyway.

Blanket taxes for everyone, got to pay back the IMF for the next 400 years.

No , why does the have to be in the entertainment businesses.

Get rid of RTE and BBC

The Backwards Man

Jawgap wrote: »

I bet you're wrong - it was a nice earner, but it won't have been done on the meter and will have been done under contract. They didn't just ring up the local cab firm or walk out and hail a taxi.

Have to go by Sligo on a court job too, it's not that great an earner at all.

SpaceTime

Infuriating waste of tax payers' money!

That €1000 could have gone on something useful.

Also, I thought Alan Shatter brought in legislation to prevent this kind of thing happening?
Did that get parked by someone or is it just being ignored?

Hans Bricks

Man Alive ! Does the Irish Justice system have any sense of perspective ?

Estimated potetntial loss of €160 for a semi private entity vs €1,000 to ferry someone to jail for 3 hours (and carry out the process in the most **** way possible).

dxhound2005

kneemos wrote: »

We don't have the legislation to deduct from peoples wages or welfare.

The thing that annoys me is that we actually do. It is new legislation and maybe the failure to fully implement it is due to Alan Shatter being no longer Minister for Justice. And it seems attachement orders will apply to salaries and occupational pensions but not welfare payments.

http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2014/a714.pdf

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0722/463975-prison-unpaid-fines-alan-shatter/

FF/Greens intoduced the Fines Act 2010 which is the basis for the lastest legislation but for some reason they did not see fit to provide for attachement orders.

Harry Palmr

who the fug wrote: »

No , why does the have to be in the entertainment businesses.

Get rid of RTE and BBC

If the Irish government closed down the BBC there would be questions .

mickstupp

mass_debater wrote: »

She should pay for the fcukin licence then like the rest of us and not wasting state funds paid by us taxpayers

How was she the one wasting state funds?

Baggy Trousers

Un Croissant wrote: »

Only in Ireland.

Did I get that right?

Only in Donegal perhaps. The Gardaí are a law unto themselves up there.

Baby Jane

mickstupp wrote: »

How was she the one wasting state funds?

Well I guess she could have avoided it getting to where it did.

minidazzler

kneemos wrote: »

She'd been to court,gotten a fine and a time to pay or jail time.

SIMPLES.

Being imprisoned for non payment of a fine is an absolutely ludicrous system.... It's tantamount to state mandated extortion.

kneemos

mickstupp wrote: »

How was she the one wasting state funds?

Court time.
Police time.
Prison service time.
Cost of a Taxi home.

Baggy Trousers

kneemos wrote: »

Court time.
Police time.
Prison service time.
Cost of a Taxi home.

And After Hours time! We're all busy!

mickstupp

Baby Jane wrote: »

Well I guess she could have avoided it getting to where it did.

Right, that's fair enough. She should've paid her fee. Grand. But she's not the one who decided to waste all that money transporting her. So she's not the one who decided to waste state funds in such a ludicrous manner.

Specialun

Jawgap wrote: »

I bet you're wrong - it was a nice earner, but it won't have been done on the meter and will have been done under contract. They didn't just ring up the local cab firm or walk out and hail a taxi.

So if it wasnt done on the meter it means it was accurate? Plus because it possibly was a contract then they cant have any affiliation to a guard..rofl

kneemos

mickstupp wrote: »

Right, that's fair enough. She should've paid her fee. Grand. But she's not the one who decided to waste all that money transporting her. So she's not the one who decided to waste state funds in such a ludicrous manner.

She is.

RobertKK

Really need a change in law so money that is owed like this can be paid over time from either your wage or social welfare payment.

What happened was a total waste of money, she had not paid in time, but had shown good faith by paying some of the fine, which was more than the TV license cost.

We should not be adding cost to the state that is not needed, hence why we need a law change.

mickstupp

@kneemos - Really. I'd love to hear the 'reasoning' on that. Since she surely doesn't have the power to authorise that expenditure, so she didn't decide to waste those funds on her own transfer.

RobertKK

kneemos wrote: »

She is.

We don't know her circumstances.