€1.3m paid into court poor box last year
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Almost €1.3 million was paid into the poor box in Irish courts last year, a year-on-year decline of roughly 40 per cent.
The total collected sum of €1,291,397 in 2015 has since been distributed to 724 charities, agencies and individuals, according to the Courts Service of Ireland.
The amount is smaller than the €2.18 million collected in 2014.
Most of the poor box payments came from the District Courts, where the option of making a payment in lieu of or in mitigation of convictions and fines is available at the discretion of the presiding judge.
The Courts Service explains: “When combined with the Probation of Offenders Act it provides an option where some financial penalty is considered merited but a conviction and fine are not.”
However, a High Court ruling in 2014 said it should not be given as an option to avoid conviction in motoring offences involving penalty points.
In most cases, the judge decides where the money goes.
Last year, charity Action Aid Ireland benefited from €40,000 from the courts in Tralee and the Youghal Lifeboat benefited from €2,000.
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