20 people are being sent to prison every day for failing to pay fines.

Figures released by the Department of Justice show 7,500 people were jailed in 2012 at a cost of more than €2 million.

The figures have more than trebled since back in 2008.

Just 2,500 individuals were imprisoned 5 years ago for the non-payment of fines.

'Court IT issues causing problem'

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) says a large proportion of people would only be imprisoned for a few hours and a matter of days at most for the rest.

It says this is partly because the Prison Service does not want to hold these people.

This can happen of the fine is paid by the time they get to prison, or they are released on temporary release and the fine is extinguished.

The Oireachtas introduced legislation back in 2010 which meant that if someone did not pay a fine they could pay in installments, or failing that a community service order.

However the IPRT says the problem has been that the system of installments has never been put into effect due to IT issues.

Liam Herrick from the Irish Penal Reform Trust says the system makes no sense.