ALMOST €17 MILLION for charitable causes has been raised from courtrooms across the country in the past ten years, an analysis of poor box donations shows.

St Vincent de Paul (SVP) was the biggest beneficiary of funds, with more than €1.1 million going to one of the oldest and largest charities in Ireland.

Poverty and homeless charities were among the biggest beneficiaries of the court poor box, often used by judges to direct that minor offenders make donations in lieu of a conviction or stricter penalty.

Figures provided by the Courts Service for the years 2012 to 2021 show that, when combined, the eight regional branches of the Simon Communities of Ireland received €614,822 from the poor box, with more than half of that going to Cork Simon alone.

This was followed by Dublin’s Capuchin Day Centre which received €527,986, the majority of which came from the Criminal Courts of Justice, located just one mile away.

Sightsavers International and the Christian Blind Mission – both charities that help blind and disabled people in developing countries – received €404,750 and €394,000 respectively, while the Garda Benevolent Trust Fund, which aids serving and retired Gardaí and their families, was given €314,260.

A spokesperson for SVP welcomed the funds, saying that the total received was not surprising given the charity “operates throughout the country with almost 1,200 local conferences, many of whom would benefit directly”.

“By the end of this year SVP will have received over 200,000 calls for help. Primarily they come from people on fixed incomes, whether from state payments or in low-income employment,” said the spokesperson.

“The requests are for a wide variety of help with food, fuel and utility bills, other cost of living expenses, back-to-school costs, clothing, and unexpected expenses such as replacing or repairing household goods.”

A detailed analysis of poor box records shows that, in ten years, 2,500 organisations benefited from €16.8 million in poor box donations.

Poverty and homeless organisations shared more than €2.8 million in donations.

Charities that help people abroad received over €2.2 million, including €292,500 for Ethiopia Aid and a further €271,759 going to Oxfam Ireland.

Health and disability-based charities received €1.4 million, including cancer charities receiving €336,123 and mental health groups getting €540,971.

Pieta House received €267,710 and the Samaritans took in €120,930.

More than 70 addiction treatment services received in excess of €900,000, while a dozen domestic abuse organisations accepted €142,860.

Other sectors that benefitted included organisations supporting women in crisis, which received over €600,000 – this includes the Cuan Saor Women’s Refuge in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, which took in €120,850.

Over 100 youth groups also gained more than €600,000, while hospices around the country received more than €650,000, including the Dublin 15 Hospice Fund getting €176,685.

A total of 70 older persons groups received donations ranging from €150 for a senior citizens party in Portlaoise to €26,960 for Lismore Senior Citizens in Cork.

As well as charities, state institutions also received funds, with 86 schools getting €235,000.

Around 40 hospitals took in more than €581,000, with children’s hospitals at Temple Street and Crumlin receiving a combined €318,000.

Local community groups also benefitted significantly, including 51 Tidy Towns committees taking in over €145,000, and 35 scouting groups receiving €74,275.

Men’s sheds around the country received €74,000, while Meals on Wheels received €77,000, dispersed across 14 local groups.

26 Lions Clubs – groups of volunteers who serve their communities – also accepted over €103,000.

More than €2 million was donated through the court poor box in each of the years 2012, 2014 and 2019, while the only year which saw funds of less than €1 million being dispersed was 2021, likely heavily impacted by Covid-19 lockdowns affecting court hearings.

A total of 45 court offices around the country operated poor boxes, with Tralee, Co Kerry, seeing the largest proportion of funds – more than €3.3 million.

In contrast, just €1,750 was administered through the Cloverhill District Court office poor box.

Poor box donations are used solely at the discretion of judges and mostly in the district courts.

A 2004 review by the Law Reform Commission described the system as unfair for offenders who cannot afford to pay for donations, often facing convictions and stricter penalties instead.

They also raised concerns about a lack of accountability regarding how funds raised were spent and recommended that a new system wherein the money collected went to the victims of crime would be more appropriate.

“Ability to pay shouldn’t have anything to do with a person’s access to justice,” Wayne Stanley of the Simon Communities of Ireland said.

“So I think we would be very much in line with the principles of what the Law Reform Commission has set out.

“We do value the donations. It is a significant sum of money and it does go towards our frontline work. But those principles are as valuable, if not more.”

When asked why District Court offices in Munster gave €384,655 to Cork Simon alone, Stanley said the charity was “particularly well respected and well known”.

“They (Cork Simon) would probably work to make sure they would be informing the court of the sort of work they do when they get a donation – it’s about being transparent as well about where the funds go.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that the Government is currently reviewing the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014, which proposed to abolish the court poor box, replacing it with a new Reparation Fund “to provide for a fair, equitable and transparent system of reparation, applicable only to minor offences, and for the usage of that fund to provide services for the victims of crime.”

The Department expects to publish the review and any subsequent revisions to the 2014 Bill next year.

“[The Bill] will facilitate the effective and efficient use of community sanctions by the courts and will ensure that the courts have a wide range of appropriate options for dealing with people who have committed minor offences,” the spokesperson added.

“The Bill also takes account of the interests of victims of crime by making it a statutory requirement for the courts to have regard to the interests of victims when making decisions about community sanctions.”