# 84% Reduction In Clare Legal Aid Cases Amid New Flat Fee Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/clare-fm-1054983/84-reduction-in-clare-legal-aid-cases-amid-new-flat-fee Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/clare-fm-1054983/84-reduction-in-clare-legal-aid-cases-amid-new-flat-fee.md Podcast: [Clare FM](https://stenobird.com/podcast/clare-fm-1054983) Published: 2026-09-11T06:36:53+00:00 Episode link: https://soundcloud.com/clarefm/84-reduction-in-clare-legal Audio file: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/2398549701-clarefm-84-reduction-in-clare-legal.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/clare-fm-1054983/episodes/84-reduction-in-clare-legal-aid-cases-amid-new-flat-fee Duration seconds: 391 ## Resource The number of legal aid cases in Clare's courts has fallen by more than 84% amid the new payment scheme for solicitors. Since the flat €520 fee was introduced in July , just 30 legal aid certificates have been issued in Clare, compared to 187 in the same month last year. Previously solicitors received €240 for a first appearance, and received €60 for every subsequent court sitting. Cathy McDarby from McDarby and Co Solicitors says the new system is flawed and will hurt vulnerable defendants the most. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/clare-fm-1054983/episodes/84-reduction-in-clare-legal-aid-cases-amid-new-flat-fee/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/clare-fm-1054983/84-reduction-in-clare-legal-aid-cases-amid-new-flat-fee.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.