Chapter 4 of 13 · Drugs · 4 of 6
Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act: possession for sale or supply in Ireland
Checked 15 Oct 2026the Road Traffic Acts, the Criminal Justice Acts and the District Court Rules as amended.
Section 15, possession for sale or supply, is indictable: the District Court hears it only with the DPP's consent, up to 12 months. Drugs worth €13,000 or more are section 15A, Circuit Court only.
Written for the person who has to go to court. This guide covers the District Court of the Republic of Ireland.
Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 is the charge the Garda bring when they believe drugs in your possession were not for your own use but for sale or supply to someone else. It is a different offence from simple possession, it is indictable, and the District Court's involvement depends on a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (the DPP, see the glossary). This guide explains what the section says, the presumption from quantity, who decides where the case is tried, what each court can do, section 15A, bail and legal aid.
What section 15 says
Section 15 makes it an offence to have a controlled drug in your possession for the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another person. Three points matter.
"Supply" does not require money. Passing a joint, buying for a group of friends, or holding drugs for someone else is supply in law. A section 15 charge does not mean the Garda think you are a dealer in any ordinary sense.
The offence is possession with a purpose. The prosecution has to prove the possession, that the substance was a controlled drug, and the intention to supply. The intention is usually proved by circumstances: quantity, individual packaging, cash, weighing scales, deal lists, phone messages, or what you said.
Section 15 covers all controlled drugs alike. The cannabis distinction that applies under section 3 does not apply here; cannabis for supply is treated the same as any other drug. For simple possession, see Caught with cannabis: section 3.
The presumption from quantity
The Act lets a court presume, where the quantity found is more than is reasonably consistent with your own immediate personal use, that the drugs were not for personal use. Once the prosecution establishes that, the burden shifts and it is for you to show, on the balance of probabilities, that the drugs were in fact for yourself.
What quantity triggers the presumption is not fixed in the Act. In practice the garda gives evidence of the amount, and a solicitor or barrister can argue personal use from your pattern of consumption, the absence of packaging or cash, and the evidence of the search. This is a defence the court hears, and it is the honest reason many section 15 cases turn on quantity.
Summary or indictment: who decides
Section 15 is an indictable offence. That means the default venue is trial on indictment before a judge and jury in the Circuit Court. The District Court can deal with it summarily only where two conditions are met.
First, the DPP consents to summary disposal. After the first appearance the garda sends the file to the DPP, who directs either summary disposal in the District Court or trial on indictment. The direction usually arrives after one or two adjournments, and the court adjourns the case "for DPP's directions" in the meantime.
Second, the judge accepts jurisdiction: the judge must be satisfied that the facts, as outlined by the prosecution, make it a minor offence fit to be tried summarily. A judge who hears the outline and considers it too serious can decline jurisdiction, in which case the case goes to the Circuit Court whatever the DPP directed.
Where both conditions are met, the case stays in the District Court and proceeds like any other summary case: a plea, and either a sentence hearing or a trial before the judge alone. In 2025 the District Court made 61,515 orders on indictable offences dealt with summarily across all offence types and sent 21,787 forward for trial. The Courts Service does not publish how many of those were section 15 cases.
What each court can do
| Court | Maximum the court can impose |
|---|---|
| District Court (s.15, with the DPP's consent) | 12 months and/or a fine |
| Circuit Court on indictment (s.15) | No fixed maximum in the Act |
| Circuit Court (s.15A, drugs worth €13,000 or more) | Presumptive minimum of ten years |
The District Court's 12 months is the usual summary ceiling, and the two-year aggregate for consecutive sentences applies to it as to any other case. Within that ceiling the court can impose any of the outcomes described in What the District Court can do: sentencing options, including a suspended sentence, community service, a fine, or, for a small first-time case with a guilty plea, the Probation Act. The site never predicts where a case lands. What the court weighs is the quantity and the drug, the plea, your record, your own drug use, your role, and what the Probation Service says.
Section 15A and the €13,000 threshold
Section 15A is possession for sale or supply of drugs with a market value of €13,000 or more. The value is the street value as assessed by a garda with experience of the drug market, and it is a matter of evidence that can be challenged. Section 15A is tried in the Circuit Court only; the District Court's role is the first appearances, bail and sending the case forward.
The Act fixes a presumptive minimum sentence of ten years for section 15A, which the court can depart from only where it finds specific and exceptional circumstances, such as an early plea and real assistance to the Garda. That is the single most important reason to have a solicitor from the first day on any supply charge where the value may approach the threshold.
Bail
Most section 15 cases begin with an arrest, a search of a home or a car, and a period in custody at a Garda station. You may be charged there and either released on station bail or held for the next sitting of the District Court, where the court decides bail. For section 15, the Garda are less likely to grant station bail than for a section 3 charge, so a first appearance from custody is common.
At the bail hearing the court applies the Bail Act 1997 and the O'Callaghan principles: whether you are likely to turn up, whether you might interfere with witnesses or evidence, and, because section 15 is a serious offence for the purposes of the 1997 Act, whether you are likely to commit a serious offence while on bail. The prosecution can object on any of those grounds. The court can grant bail on conditions: signing on at a Garda station, a curfew, staying away from an area or a person, surrendering a passport, and often an independent surety with a third of the bond lodged. Breach of bail is a Class A fine and/or 12 months, and non-appearance a bench warrant and forfeiture. If the District Court refuses bail, an application can be made to the High Court. The detail is in Bail and bail conditions.
Legal aid
A section 15 charge almost always meets the gravity test under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962, because there is a real risk of imprisonment. The remaining question is means: you complete a statement of means from the court clerk, and the judge grants a certificate if your means are insufficient. There is no contribution. The certificate covers a solicitor in the District Court and, if the case goes to the Circuit Court, a new certificate covers solicitor and counsel there. Ask for legal aid at the first appearance, before anything else is dealt with; Criminal legal aid: who qualifies and how to apply explains the statement of means.
At the Garda station, before charge, the Garda Station Legal Advice Revised Scheme pays for a solicitor's advice if you are on a social welfare payment or your gross earnings are under €20,316 a year. Ask the member in charge for a solicitor and say you want the scheme.
The 2026 legal aid dispute, in which solicitors withdrew from new certificates over the flat €520 fee, did not apply to people in custody, but it caused adjournments for people on bail. If your solicitor has withdrawn, attend every date, tell the judge and ask for an adjournment. See The 2026 legal aid dispute and /changes.
The first appearance and disclosure
At the first appearance the charge is read and the prosecution usually asks for an adjournment for the DPP's directions and the analysis certificate. Nothing is decided about guilt that day. If you are on bail, the date on the charge sheet is the date you must attend; the court date tool keeps it.
If the case is to stay in the District Court and you intend to contest it, ask for a Gary Doyle order so that the prosecution's statements, the search record and the certificate of analysis are disclosed before the hearing; see Disclosure: the Gary Doyle order. If the case is being sent forward, the prosecution serves a book of evidence instead.
If your own drug dependence is behind the charge, Dublin's Drug Treatment Court can take some supply cases that the District Court can deal with summarily, where the offending is linked to the person's own use. Support services are listed at /support.
Where this leaves you
Section 15 is the charge where the venue matters most: 12 months in the District Court if the DPP consents and the judge accepts jurisdiction, no fixed maximum in the Circuit Court, and a presumptive ten years at €13,000 or more. The presumption from quantity is the usual battleground, and it is one the court hears argued.
Use the legal aid tool to see whether your means may qualify; the charge itself almost always does. If you may qualify for legal aid, ask the judge for it at your first appearance, and read /legal-aid first. If you are engaging a solicitor privately, /solicitor explains how to find one in your district and what to bring to the first meeting.
Frequently asked questions
What is the sentence for section 15 in Ireland?
It depends on the court. In the District Court, with the DPP's consent to summary disposal, the maximum is 12 months and a fine. On indictment in the Circuit Court there is no fixed maximum, and under section 15A, for drugs worth €13,000 or more, the Act sets a presumptive minimum of ten years. The site never predicts where within those limits a case lands.
Can section 15 be dealt with in the District Court?
Yes, where the DPP consents to summary disposal and the judge accepts that the facts make it a minor offence fit to be tried summarily. Many small-quantity section 15 cases are dealt with that way. If either condition is missing, the case is sent forward to the Circuit Court.
What is the difference between section 3 and section 15?
Section 3 is possession for your own use; section 15 is possession with intent to sell or supply to someone else. Supply does not require money: handing drugs to a friend is supply. The Garda choose the charge from the quantity, packaging, cash, scales and messages, and the Act lets the court presume supply from quantity alone.
What does section 15A mean?
Section 15A is possession for sale or supply of drugs with a market value of €13,000 or more. It is tried in the Circuit Court only, and the Act fixes a presumptive minimum sentence of ten years unless the court finds specific and exceptional circumstances. The District Court's role is limited to the first appearances and bail.
Will I get bail on a section 15 charge?
The court decides under the Bail Act 1997 and the O'Callaghan principles: whether you are likely to attend, interfere with witnesses or commit a serious offence while on bail. Section 15 is a serious offence for bail purposes, so the prosecution can object on that ground, but many people charged under section 15 are granted bail with conditions and sometimes a surety.