Over €7.7m contributed to the court poor box over past five years

Over €7.7m has been contributed to the court poor box over the past five years.

Last year alone, over €2m was collected.

The figures were revealed in response to a parliamentary question by Independent TD Mattie McGrath - who wants the poor box to be retained.

There are plans to abolish the system and replace it with a statutory Reparation Fund to make it more transparent.

However, Deputy McGrath says there is no clear evidence of abuse and that charities would suffer if it was abolished.

- Digital Desk