Explainer: Dismissal

27th February 2024

What is dismissal?  

Dismissal may happen when a person has been charged with a criminal offence and is appearing in the District Court. The District Court judge hearing the case might decide that the case should be dismissed, even though there are enough facts to show that the person committed the offence.  

Dismissal usually (but not always) happens for public order offences and for persons facing their first offence. (Law Reform Commission Report, The Court Poor Box: Probation of Offenders (2005), para 1.08.)  

The person charged with an offence will have no criminal conviction. However, there will be a record of the dismissal order and it could be used as evidence showing that a person is not of good character if they are accused of criminal offences in the future. 

The District Court judge could also make an order that the person must donate to the Court Poor Box, but this does not happen in every case as it is up to the judge. 

When can dismissal be ordered? 

The District Court judge must think about certain things before they can make a decision to dismiss: 

• the character of the person 
• the person's background 
• the person's age 
• the person's health – this includes their mental health 
• the nature of the offence – whether it is a serious offence, or a less serious or "trivial" offence 
• other circumstances or issues that existed at the time the person committed the crime, for example family issues 

Dismissal cannot be ordered for certain crimes, such as driving or attempting to drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs as the legislation for those offences requires that other forms of sentencing be applied. (Road Traffic Act 1994, as amended, section 26.) 

What is the legal basis for dismissal? 

The District Court has the power to permit the dismissal of a criminal charge under section 1(1) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 (as amended). 

There is no legislation or legal guidance providing for the use of the Court Poor Box. The practice is historical in origin and has evolved over many years. It comes from a judge’s powers under 'common law’ - meaning laws that have come from case law and legal practice, rather than from legislation. It still operates in this way without any underlying legislation.  

Statistics on how often dismissal is used in Ireland 

In 2022,10,881 criminal offences were dismissed in the District Court:

• 291 were for offences committed by people under 18. 
• 10,590 were for offences committed by adults. 

Additional relevant information

• Usually, if a person is ordered to donate to the Court Poor Box and they can pay, they give the money to the District Court registrar. Otherwise, the person can arrange with the District Court to pay at a later date. As it is not based on legislation, there is no set procedure for how it is applied. It may vary slightly depending on the District Court.
• Donations to the Poor Box are forwarded by the court to a charity picked by the judge. The Courts Service is responsible for ensuring that all money paid into and out of the Poor Box are carried out in accordance with the direction of the judge and that there are systems in place for recording and accounting for the Poor Box receipts and payments. (read more here)
• The Court Poor Box has been criticised as being unfair, because those who can afford to pay will do so, but people who do not have the means to pay will not be able avoid a criminal conviction for a less serious crime and may have to serve a sentence. 
• In 2022, the ‘Poor Box receipts’ were approximately €2.3 million. (Courts Service, Annual Report 2022, p. 144. The figure for ‘poor box receipts’ was recorded as €2,331,000. The figure for 2021 was €1,720,000.)