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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Judge Seamus Hughes
New legislation, which will see anyone caught in possession of cannabis for personal use receive a caution instead of a court appearance, will have a serious effect on the court poor box, Judge Seamus Hughes has said.
The majority of the funding in the Court Poor Box comes from contributions paid by persons who have been prosecuted for possession of small amounts of drugs such as cannabis.
Since Judge Hughes has been presiding judge over counties Longford and Westmeath, in excess of €2.5m has been made available to local organisations through court poor box grants.
The new regulations will free up garda time, as without an arrest for small drugs crimes, they will not have as much paperwork on their hands.
However, it will see local organisations and charities suffer the loss of grants which are distributed annualy by Judge Hughes.
“I’ll take as much drug money as I can because the government has decided on cautions for cannabis possession. That will impact the court poor box,” he said following the news of the new legislation.
This year saw a total of €68,500 being distributed by Judge Hughes among local groups from Court Poor Box grants.
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