MASSIVE DROP IN COURT POOR BOX CONTRIBUTIONS

THE amount of money paid by Kerry defendants to the Court Poor Box in 2015 has dropped by a staggering €750,000 on the previous year, according to figures released by the Courts Service this week.

Last year, 21 charities benefited from €131,570 which was collected in courts across the county by way of Court Poor Box contributions,

The figure, however, is dramatically lower than the €883,527 that was collected across Kerry courts during 2014.

The total figure relates to the amount of money paid to the Court Poor Pox in Court District 17, which covers Killarney, Tralee, Listowel, Kenmare, Killorglin, Cahersiveen and Dingle.

The significant drop in the Kerry contribution has impacted significantly on the overall national figure, which has dropped from €2.18m in 2014 to €1.3m last year.

The option of a court poor box payment in lieu of a conviction is at the discretion of the judge - in the case of Kerry, Judge James O’Connor - as is the amount a defendant is ordered to pay.

As well as public order offences, the poor box is sometimes used for first time offenders charged with minor offences such as minor road traffic offences and drug offences.

“When combined with the Probation of Offenders Act, it provides an option where some financial penalty is considered merited but a conviction and fine are not,” the Courts Service explained in a statement.

The practice is predominantly used by the district courts which deal with criminal offences of a less serious nature than other jurisdictions and the individual amounts can vary substantially, depending on a person’s ability to pay, other penalties imposed and the nature of the offence.

In Kerry last year, the money collected was distributed between 21 charities - most of which are agencies working internationally.

Action Aid Ireland, a charity that works to combat poverty in Africa’s poorest regions - was the highest beneficiary, receiving €40,000 from the overall Kerry total.

Other charities which benefited from the Kerry contributions were Oxfam Ireland (€17,150); Columban Fathers in Ireland (€15,000); Missionaries for the Poor (€12,000); St Patrick’s Missionary Society, Kiltegan (€11,000) and World Vision Ireland (€10,000).

The largest local beneficiaries were the Stephanie O’Sullivan Memorial Fund which received €5,000 and the St Vincent de Paul Society in Castleisland which received €2,250.

Other Kerry charities to benefit included the Kerry Rape Crisis Centre (€500), Listowel Conference of St Paul (€400), Milltown Childcare Centre Ltd (€500) and Kerry respite Care which received €250.