Creditors often treat the choice of court as strategic. It is largely arithmetic — and the real consequence is what the exercise will cost you, not how quickly you will be paid.
The Thresholds
The civil jurisdiction of the District Court in contract and most other matters is €15,000, with a simplified small claims procedure for claims below €2,000. The Circuit Court’s civil jurisdiction in matters other than personal injuries is €75,000. Above that, the High Court. These are statutory figures, subject to change, and should be confirmed before anything is issued. Two refinements worth knowing. Parties may agree to lift the Circuit Court limit and confer unlimited jurisdiction by consent, which is occasionally useful where both sides would rather avoid High Court costs. And a claim generally cannot be inflated to reach a higher court, nor can one claim be artificially split into several to stay within a lower one — the second in particular can be fatal to the later claims. On small claims: for a modest undisputed debt it is often genuinely the right route, designed to be used without a solicitor, and you should be told so rather than sold proceedings. It becomes less suitable where the debt is disputed or where enforcement is the real difficulty.
Cost, Venue, and Where the Strategy Actually Sits
Lower courts mean lower legal costs, which matters enormously on modest debts where costs can otherwise approach the sum claimed — that was much of the policy reason for increasing the jurisdictional limits, with the expectation that it would particularly benefit debt collection. Speed, by contrast, depends far more on whether the claim is defended, on the list in the relevant venue, and on the enforcement stage than on which court hears it. Venue is a separate question and turns on connecting factors, commonly where the defendant resides or carries on business, or where the contract was made or was to be performed. Proceedings issued in the wrong venue can be challenged or transferred, costing time and money, and there is a practical dimension too — a creditor in one county suing a debtor in another may find venue affects the cost of both the proceedings and any later enforcement. So check it rather than assuming it follows your own address. And the point worth carrying away: the strategy in a debt claim is not in the choice of court. It is in the three questions before it — is it in time, is it genuinely disputed, and does the debtor have anything.
A note on the figures: jurisdictional thresholds are set by statute and have been changed before. Anything you read online, including this page, should be confirmed as current before proceedings are issued.
The full page is here, or ring 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981, with offices at The Ormond Building on Ormond Quay — a short walk from the Four Courts. The firm advises creditors on recovery and enforcement, and, in separate matters, advises debtors who have received demands or proceedings. It is a law firm and not a debt collection agency: fees are agreed in writing at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of what is recovered. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about Irish law on debt recovery and enforcement. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every debt turns on its own facts — the documents, the dates, the parties and the debtor’s circumstances — and advice on yours requires a consultation. Statutory thresholds and figures referred to on this site are subject to change and should be confirmed before any step is taken.
A law firm, not a debt collection agency. Mary Molloy Solicitors provides legal advice and representation. It does not operate as a debt collection agency and does not conduct collection campaigns. Fees are agreed in writing with the client at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of any sum recovered. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
No outcome is promised. Nothing on this site states or implies that any debt will be recovered, that any asset will be found, that any enforcement step will succeed, or that any claim will succeed. Recovery depends substantially on the debtor’s means, which are frequently unknown at the outset.
How payment may be demanded is regulated. Section 11 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 makes it an offence to make a demand for payment by means calculated to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely to represent that legal proceedings have been or will be issued. Nothing on this site should be read as encouraging any such conduct. Mortgage arrears on a principal private residence are dealt with under a separate regulatory framework and are outside the scope of this site.
If you are the person being pursued. Free, confidential and independent money advice is available in Ireland from MABS, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, and through the Abhaile scheme for people in mortgage arrears. You do not have to engage a solicitor to get help, and taking advice early generally improves the options available. This firm advises debtors in matters separate from those in which it acts for a creditor, and never both sides of the same debt — conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion.
Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Questions about VAT on recovered sums, bad debt relief or the treatment of write-offs belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance.