Drunk and disorderly in Ireland: the €100 fixed charge, the court and the record

"Drunk and disorderly" is not the name of an offence in Irish law. It is what people call two sections of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994: section 4, intoxication in a public place, and section 5, disorderly conduct in a public place. Both are among the most common charges the District Court sees, both carry a fine and no custody, and both can be ended by a fixed charge notice without a court date at all.

This guide explains the two sections, the fixed charge, what happens if the matter goes to court, the poor box, and what is left on your record afterwards. For the other public order sections, including the ones that carry custody, read the public order offences guide.

Section 4: intoxication in a public place

Section 4 is being in a public place while intoxicated to such an extent that there is a reasonable apprehension that you might endanger yourself or any other person nearby. "Intoxicant" means alcohol, drugs or both. The garda can seize the drink.

The test is not simply whether you had drink taken. The garda has to be able to describe the state you were in and why it gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of danger: staggering into traffic, falling, unable to stand, out cold on a footpath. A public place includes a street, a park, a bus or train, a pub while it is open, a car park, and any place the public has access to.

The maximum on conviction is a Class E fine under the Fines Act 2010, which means up to €500.

Section 5: disorderly conduct

Section 5 is "offensive conduct" in a public place: unreasonable behaviour that is likely to cause serious offence or annoyance to a reasonable person. Shouting, roaring, kicking bins, lying across a doorway, singing at a crowd that did not ask for it.

The timing matters. Between midnight and 7 am the conduct itself is the offence. At any other time it is an offence only after a garda has asked you to stop and you have continued. A lot of section 5 charges therefore turn on the warning: whether it was given, what was said, and what happened after.

The maximum on conviction is a Class D fine, up to €1,000.

The fixed charge notice

Since 2006 a garda can issue a fixed charge notice for section 4 or section 5 instead of applying for a summons. The amounts are €100 for section 4 and €140 for section 5.

Pay within the time the notice gives and the matter ends: no summons, no court, no conviction. The 2016 Act on spent convictions treats a fixed charge paid in time as not being a conviction at all, so there is nothing to become spent.

Three things to know about the notice:

• There is no second window at a higher amount and no third payment option. Those are rules for road traffic notices under the Road Traffic Act 2010; the public order notice is one amount, one window.
• Not paying is not a way of contesting it. If the notice is not paid a summons issues and the charge is heard in the ordinary way. If you dispute what happened, the route is a plea of not guilty at court, with a hearing at which the garda gives evidence and you give yours.
• The notice may arrive weeks after the night. Keep the envelope and the date.

If it goes to court

A summons is served by post or in person, usually twelve to fourteen weeks before the first date; the summons guide explains the envelope. If you were arrested and charged at the station you have a charge sheet, usually with a date within a day or two.

At the first appearance the charge is read and you plead. On a guilty plea the garda outlines the facts, you or your solicitor say anything in mitigation, and the judge deals with it that day or adjourns it. On a not guilty plea a hearing date is fixed.

The court's options on a section 4 or section 5 charge are:

• a dismissal under section 1(1) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907, with no conviction recorded, often with a donation to the poor box or a condition of good behaviour;
• a strike-out where the prosecution does not proceed, for example after a donation;
• a bond to keep the peace, which is not a conviction;
• a conviction and a fine within the class, after the court has considered your means.

There is no custody under either section. The court cannot imprison you for section 4 or section 5, whatever the facts; if custody is on the table the charge is a different section.

Most first offences of this kind end in one of the first three. What moves the court is a plea, a clean record, the facts the garda describes, an apology, and evidence that something has changed since, such as a letter from an employer or proof of a course. Legal aid is rarely granted for a charge with no custody, because the gravity test in the 1962 Act is not met, but the judge decides and there is no harm in asking; the legal aid guide explains the tests.

The poor box

The court poor box is a practice, not a statute. The judge may direct a charitable donation in place of, or alongside, a penalty, usually with a Probation Act dismissal so that no conviction is recorded. About €1.5 million passed through poor boxes nationwide in 2025, almost €1.4 million of it in Dublin. The sum is the judge's to set after hearing your means; the court does not publish a scale, and the poor box guide explains how the money is used.

Two cautions. The poor box is at the judge's discretion and nobody can promise it. And if you are told to bring a sum to the next date and do not, the court may deal with the charge in the ordinary way.

Paying a fine

If the court fines you, the judge sets the time to pay. A fine over €100 can be paid by instalments over up to twelve months on application to the court office under the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014. If a fine goes unpaid the court office writes to you and lists the matter again; the Act then allows a receiver for a fine over €500, an attachment of earnings order, or community service in place of the fine, and no custody can follow without a court hearing. The fines guide and the fine planner set out the steps.

The Adult Caution

Both sections are on the Adult Caution Scheme's list. A Garda superintendent can decide to give a formal caution instead of prosecuting, where you admit the offence and agree. The decision is the Garda's, taken before a summons issues; it cannot be applied for at court. A caution is not a conviction, but it is recorded and can be disclosed in Garda vetting for certain roles. The Adult Caution guide covers who it is offered to.

The record afterwards

What is left depends on how the matter ended.

A conviction under section 4 or section 5 is a minor public order conviction in the District Court. Under the 2016 Act it can become spent seven years after the effective date, and it does not count towards the rule that only one conviction can ever be spent. Garda vetting does not disclose a single conviction more than seven years old where you were 18 or over and the sentence is complete. A police certificate for a visa discloses everything; the spent convictions guide covers travel.

Where this leaves you

If a fixed charge notice has arrived, the decision is whether to pay it within the time on the notice or to let a summons issue and plead not guilty. If a summons or charge sheet has arrived, the court's maximum is a fine, the poor box and the Probation Act are common on a first offence, and the fine planner shows the class, the time to pay and an instalment schedule for whatever the court fixes.

If you may qualify for legal aid, ask the judge for it at your first appearance; the legal aid page explains the statement of means, and the solicitor page explains how to find a solicitor who takes District Court work if you would rather have one with you.