No money went to the Court Poor Box from local district courts in West Cork so far in 2025, new figures show.

A breakdown by county released to TD Michael Murphy come as there is a renewed focus on the practice of judges using their discretion to allow an offender to avoid a conviction by making a donation.

In 2022, 15 people throughout the Clonakilty district (including courts in Bandon, Bantry, Clonakilty, Macroom, and Skibbereen) were granted the Poor Box route.

In 2023, just four people were granted the reprieve, and in 2024 it was two.

The downward trend has been repeated across the country since 2022, except for the Dublin Metropolitan District where in 2024 there were 116 people who got the Poor Box Option, compared to 39 in 2023 and  34 in 2025.

Eleven years ago, the High Court ruled that the penalty point system, introduced in 2002, superseded the District Court’s ‘informal sanction…such as accepting a donation to the poor box’.

However charities benefit from the donations, although speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 recently, Paul Sheehan of Cork Simon Community gently railed against the term ‘poor box’.

Locally, in 2024 Bandon Arch Social Club got €1,000 through the scheme, and the Bandon Hyperbaric Charitable Trust got €100.

Dzogchen Beara, the Buddhist meditation centre, received €5,000; Enniskeane Camogie Club received €1,000, as did Goleen GAA club.

Skibbereen Community and Family Resource Centre got €3,400; St Vincent de Paul in Castletownbere got €1,000.

Other SVP branches benefitted including Bandon (€1,200) and Macroom (€1,260).