Dublin barrister urges caution over scrapping of court poor box

Roger Cross

Roger Cross told Irish Legal News that he continued to believe poor box donations were an “effective way to dispose of minor criminal offences where the accused has no previous convictions or is of previous good character”.

Some of his legal colleagues chimed in on Twitter in agreement.

Mr Cross said: “I think the perception that [the poor box] offers a ‘free ride’ to criminals is misconceived and generally it’s not used in cases of serial offenders.

“It’s particularly appropriate in circumstances where someone has made a mistake, is in court for the first time, and is unlikely to be back again.

“The rationale for this is quite simple, the impact of a conviction on someone who finds themselves in this situation can be severely damage employment or travel prospects.

“These kinds of situations are also recognised in the recent enactment of the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016.”

He added: “Aside from this, it goes without saying that the practice has huge benefit to charities in Ireland.”

Mr Flanagan told TDs earlier this summer that he remained unhappy “regarding the manner in which the court poor box is being used in the courts”.

The Government has now approved the drafting of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill, which will replace the poor box with a statutory reparation fund.