Ms Shalom Binchy:

The poor box system works very well and although it is not on a statutory footing, we are not keen to see changes made to that system because it has been extremely effective, particularly cost-effective. Currently, funds are usually sent to a charity at the nomination of the judge and administered in a very cost-effective way. They also go to mainly local organisations, very often those which deal with sources of criminal activity. For example, the money may go to local drug treatment organisations and bodies which may not receive much funding from other sources. We are keen to keep that funding available for those types of organisations. Although we welcome the idea that victims of crime could also receive some payments through the court poor box system, we would not like to see a system where local organisations - particularly those involved with measures to prevent offending - would not receive funds from the court box. We are also concerned that this proposal could add another layer of bureaucracy and it could be much more costly than the existing system.