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13 Apr 2026
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13 Apr 2026
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Around 200 people who are accused of drugs offences at the Electric Picnic are expected to appear at Portlaoise District Court this week.
The first of two dedicated court sitting dates for Electric Picnic attendees accused of having drugs at the 2025 festival will take place on Tuesday, April 14. A second day has been set aside to hear such cases in a fortnight.
The now annual court sittings mark an unwelcome return to Laois for many Electric Picnic attendees but provide a significant financial boost to the Court Poor Box of Court District 15. Last year the Laois Offaly Court District announced that its Poor Box coffers was boosted by €150,000 last year as a result of the 2024 Electric Picnic.
READ MORE: Laois Poor Box tops €300,000
People without previous convictions who were caught with drugs(up to a certain value) at the Electric Picnic festival can be given the option of making a Poor Box contribution to avoid a conviction if they plead guilty and agree to undertake drug awareness courses.
All donations are lodged centrally to the Courts Service and fully audited, and a full list of all donations by each district are published on the courts website each year.
Money from the Court Poor Box in Laois is distributed to charities and sports clubs. The sitting Judge generally distribute the proceeds but in Laois Offaly a committee is formed of Gardaí, Court Service management, legal representatives and the two sitting judges. Together they agree which charities and sports organisations should benefit from the donations.
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