Claim amount
What can you claim in small claims in Ireland?
A practical guide to claim amounts, evidence, the EUR25 fee, and common items that do not belong in an Irish small-claims amount.
- current cap
- EUR2,000
- fee not added to the claim
- EUR25
- keep the amount evidence-based
- money
Check your dispute first
Answer a few questions to see your options before writing your complaint.
Check your optionsThe most useful small-claims question is often not whether you are annoyed enough. It is what money amount you can explain clearly.
Public forum threads repeatedly show confusion about the court fee, travel, time spent, emotional distress, expert reports, replacement costs, and whether a trader can be fined.
TBD helps you explain what happened and how much you are asking the business to repay. It does not give legal advice or tell you what to submit to court.
What to do next
- 1Start with the core product, service, deposit, or minor damage amount.
- 2Remove items that are not part of a small-claims money remedy, such as time spent, stress, and the application fee.
- 3Use a written complaint to ask the trader for the remedy before considering Courts.ie directly.
Good amount signals
Good amount evidence includes receipts, invoices, card or bank records, refund promises, repair or replacement quotes, delivery records, and photos or reports that show the issue.
A smaller, well-supported claim can be stronger than a larger claim padded with items that do not belong.
Common mistakes
Do not add the EUR25 application fee to the claim amount. Courts.ie says the fee cannot be claimed back as part of the application.
Do not treat stress, poor customer service, time spent emailing, travel, or a wish to fine the trader as the same thing as the product or service remedy.
Specialist routes
If the issue is telecoms, flights, financial services, insurance, hire purchase, leasing, or a residential tenancy deposit, a specialist route may be better first.
Before you write
- Receipt, invoice, order confirmation, or contract
- Proof of payment
- Refund, repair, replacement, or price-reduction request
- Repair quote or completion estimate if already available
- Photos, videos, delivery records, or messages
- Short calculation showing how you reached the amount
Questions people ask
Can I claim the EUR25 small-claims fee?
Courts.ie says the EUR25 application fee cannot be claimed back as part of the application.
Can I claim for stress or time spent?
Those frustrations may be real, but TBD keeps small-claims preparation focused on concrete product, service, deposit, or minor damage value.