Government approves drafting of bill to scrap poor box

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said the Cabinet had approved the drafting of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill.

Defendants have paid nearly €7.5 million to the court poor box since 2014 in order to avoid conviction, even though the High Court tried to clamp down on this in 2014.

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”.

Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath had claimed in the Dáil that the poor box “is being used with great ingenuity by many justices throughout the country” and charities would lose out if it was scrapped.

He insisted that it was a “good process that has served the State well and has been used wisely by most justices”.

Mr Flanagan replied: “I wish to restate my unhappiness regarding the manner in which the court poor box is being used in the courts. I intend to reform it. I will not have legislation ready in time for this session but it is an issue I look forward to bringing forward before the end of the year. I am not happy with the system and I intend to do away with it.”