Court 'poor box' pays out €1.5m to charities in 2025

The courts using the system most are Dublin City District Court at the Court of Criminal Justice

The Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014 will replace the poor box with a formal 'reparation fund', as suggested by the Law Reform Commission 20 years ago. File picture

Charities working with sick children, the homeless, and people with mental health difficulties benefited from €1.54m distributed in local court 'poor box' funds last year.

The court poor box system is a sanction generally applied by judges for more minor offences and where an accused has pleaded guilty and has never been before the courts before.