Poor Box – Donations must not be a slush fund

THE proposal to give statutory weight to the traditional Poor Box system, used mainly by District Court judges in minor criminal matters, is both timely and sensible.

As the discussion document from the Law Reform Commission suggests, it would be replaced by a more formal system called the Court Charity Fund.

While the court Poor Box has been operating for centuries, it is not regulated by legislation. Significantly, the fund would not be available in cases where the court records a conviction.

With close on €1 million a year being donated, there should be no question of giving the Government control over the disbursement of the funds raised by this system.

The idea of lodging this money in a fund managed by the Department of Community Affairs, regardless of its responsibility for charities, will inevitably fuel suspicions that yet another slush fund is being created.

The mere notion of political hacks getting their hands on court donations, or any such donations for that matter, is anathema.