Kerry offenders are one of the most generous in the country when it comes to donating to charities through the “court poor box” – contributing almost a quarter of the total collected in poor boxes across all districts in the State in 2011.
The poor box is a device offered mainly by District Court judges as a means of avoiding conviction and/or fine on minor offences, particularly if these are first offences.
A breakdown of figures from the Courts Service reveals that offenders in District No 17, which includes all Kerry towns apart from Listowel, contributed €416,485.
A total of €1.734 million was collected via poor boxes throughout the 24 districts in 2011, according to the annual report of the Courts Service.