Cut in numbers entitled to legal aid for civil cases

The number of people entitled to legal aid for civil court cases has been slashed under new Government measures to save up to €700,000.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter announced plans to narrow the scope for who can receive the support in a bid to spend the saved money on reducing waiting lists.

Under the Fine Gael minister’s policy change, the disposable capital threshold a person must fall below to qualify for the help will be cut from €320,000 to €100,000.