Government widens availability of legal aid

The Government has increased the threshold for those who wish to avail of legal aid in civil cases by 40%.

Those who earn €18,000 net will now qualify.

Noeleen Blackwell of FLAC, the free legal advice centre, says the previous limit was very low.

While welcoming the improvement, she is calling on the Government to review the new figure at a later date.

"The question is, does it accomplish the job it set out to do? And the job it set out to do is allow people on limited income to access legal services.

"We would say you've got to keep an eye on this now. You've got to see does this do the job and if it does not, it may require further adjustment."