Payments are predominantly made at the discretion of District Court judges in minor, non-violent criminal cases with no custodial sentence.
Hundreds of charities located throughout the 26 counties received poor-box money last year. The Courts Service itself has no function in the allocation of payments, which amounted to some €1.05 million in 2023.
The beneficiaries included Coolmine Therapeutic Community (€52,120), Cork Simon (€47,150), the Irish Red Cross (€29,350), Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice (€13,005), the Merchants Quay Project (€35,140) and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital (€13,350).