Winning under the new Lotto format - Some Chance

Lotto?  It's a Numbers Game

More ways to win, they said.

Bigger prizes, they said.

And, of course, the National Lottery were not wrong in their claims about the changes that would result from the new 47-ball format that came into play last September.

But what they didn't inform the public was that other subtle changes, such as the withdrawal of a prize for 3 numbers in the Lotto Plus 2 game, meant the picture isn't as rosy as the National Lottery would suggest when the odds of winning prizes in all three Lotto games (Lotto and 2 Lotto Plus games) are calculated.

And 90 per cent of those who play, choose the Plus option.

Here's a piece from a few months back that examines the figures.

Detailed tables on average payouts and the number of winners between the old and new formats of Lotto are displayed.

(Many thanks to Karrie Kehoe of The Times for assistance with the data)

Winning the New Lotto - Some Chance....

The number of players winning any type of prize in the twice-weekly Lotto and Lotto Plus draws has fallen sharply since a new game format was introduced six months ago.

Despite a major rise in the cost of playing since September, the average prize fund for each game night has only increased by 3.6 per cent.

These are the main findings of an analysis by The Times of all 117 draw results since the start of 2015 to February 13 of this year.

It reveals that an average of only 66,700 players win some type of prize on each draw night under the new format, compared with more than 93,000 under the older version.

It also shows that under the new 47-ball format the average total payout for all winning combinations in the three draws on any given night is €1.39 million, compared with more than €1.34 million in the older game format — an increase of just €48,000.

On September 5, in the first major change to the game structure since 2006, the cost of playing Lotto rose by 25 per cent for customers who choose the “Plus” option. The minimum play went from €4 to €5. According to the National Lottery, 90 per cent of customers choose the “Plus” option. The price increase was 33 per cent for those who just played the main Lotto game.

Michael Cronin, head of the Department of Statistics at University College Cork, said the figures would suggest there had been a 9 per cent reduction in the number of lines played in the main Lotto game since the new format was introduced.

As well as raising the price, the National Lottery added two numbers to the existing 45-number format in September, significantly reducing a player’s chance of winning each type of match prize.

Extra winning combinations were added to the main Lotto draw as well as a €300 raffle prize for Lotto Plus players. This enabled the National Lottery to promise that the changes offered more ways to win and bigger jackpots.

However, the company did not publicise the fact that it withdrew the Match 3 prize in the Lotto Plus 2 game, which was won by an average of more than 26,000 players in each draw.

Dr Cronin said the odds of winning any prize in the new format had increased to 1 in 17.4 from 1 in 14.3 in the 45-ball game.

“While the odds of winning any prize on the main Lotto have increased, the change in mean prize is marginal,” he said. “That is more than offset by the increase in the price to play.”

In other words, while people with winning combinations are receiving slightly larger prizes on average, there are far fewer of them than before and everyone is paying more to play.

Since the new format was introduced there have been five winners of the big jackpot, paying out a total of €33.3 million. The biggest single jackpot of almost €13.8 million was won by a family in Co Mayo.

The National Lottery is now owned by Premier Lotteries Ireland Ltd, a consortium involving An Post and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which controls Camelot, the UK lottery group. Premier Lotteries Ireland took over the running of the lottery in 2014 with a 20-year licence.

A spokeswoman for Premier Lotteries Ireland said “Bigger Better Lotto” was introduced to create more winners and bigger jackpots as part of the company’s longterm growth strategy for the National Lottery.

She maintained that the odds on winning any prize for the core Lotto game had reduced from 1 in 42 to 1 in 28.7 under the new format.

Premier Lotteries Ireland said its own analysis of the results of 43 draws before and after the change indicated overall prize funds had increased by 10.3 per cent. It also insisted the overall number of winners across all games had risen.

However, the company declined to reveal any details of whether there had been an increase or decrease in the number of Lotto players since last year’s price rise. Similarly it did not provide any requested information on sales performance since the change to the new 47-ball format.

The spokeswoman said annual results for 2015 would be issued “in due course”, adding: “The new game and increased jackpot rollovers have generated huge player interest with the highest weekly sales recorded since 2010.”

Burglaries in 2015 - Breaking into the Garda figures

Increases in burglaries were reported by more than 40 per cent of all Garda stations last year, despite an overall reduction in the crime nationally.

Crime figures for 2015 show that 238 stations out of a total of 563 across the Republic recorded a rise in burglaries in 2015 against a background of a 5 per cent annual drop in such crimes nationwide. Levels at a further 38 stations were unchanged.

Despite a widespread focus on rural crime rates last year, the highest levels of burglary have consistently been found in Dublin and counties in the capital’s commuter belt.

Fears about dramatic increases in rural crime, particularly burglaries, which became the focus of intense media coverage last summer due to special meetings held by community leaders in many parts of the country, are not proven by the latest official crime figures.

Dublin experienced the highest level of the crime with 9.1 burglaries committed per 1,000 population with a noticeable increase in such crimes across upmarket suburbs on the southside of the city.

Figures show reported burglaries were up over 30 per cent in Shankill and Dundrum and by 20 per cent in Rathfarnham and Cabinteely.

Many TDs in south Dublin have claimed the closure of the Garda station in Stepaside has led to a spike in crime levels in the area.

Jospeha Madigan, a Fine Gael TD for Dublin Rathdown, said a review of the dispersal of stations in urban, suburban and rural areas was one of the top priorities in a discussion document which Fine Gael had prepared for talks with other groups in relation to the formation of a new government.

“Crime affects everyone across the country and the isolation of some rural communities and the vulnerability of persons or families experiencing crime resonates strongly but the statistical fact remains that in the city you are most likely to be a victim of crime,” Ms Madigan said.

Above-average rates for burglary are found exclusively along the eastern side of the country including Louth, Laois, Wexford, Kildare, Carlow, Waterford and Wicklow.

According to figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the lowest rates in 2015 were in Monaghan followed by Donegal, Mayo, Kerry, Cork and Leitrim.

The CSO figures, which are based on crimes recorded on the garda Pulse system, show there was a dramatic rise in burglaries in Cavan last year with levels up over 50 per cent.

Brendan Smith, a Cavan TD and former minister, there was deep concern among local communities about the scale of the increase.

Mr Smith blamed a reduction in the number of gardaí and the closure of Garda stations as well as a lack of resources for rising crime levels, which he partly attributed to criminals with paramilitary links based across the border in Northern Ireland.

“There’s been a huge increase in reports of items like lawnmowers, farm machinery and tools being taken from homes,” Mr Smith said. “In many cases, it looks like criminals are stealing to order.”

Mr Smith called on the government to introduce a network of CCTV cameras on major national routes which are widely believed to be used by criminal gangs.

Welcoming the overall downward trend in burglary figures, Save Our Local Community (SOLC), a group established to campaign for greater resources to tackle rural crime, said it believed its role in highlighting the issue had contributed to the decrease.

Robert O’Shea, the group’s spokesman, acknowledged that crimes figures in Tipperary, where SOLC is centred, had dropped significantly during 2015.

“We believe the publicity we attracted to the crime in the Littleton area certainly gave a warning to both the authorities and villains and it seems the results are beginning to show,” Mr O’Shea said. “The message certainly got home to gardaí and politicians about the depth of our feeling.”

Nevertheless, he warned that there had been little change in the level of fear felt by people living on their own in isolated areas.

“While they maybe know there has been a fall in crime in their area, they are conscious that criminals are still on the prowl,” Mr O’Shea remarked.

SOLC strongly advocate an increase in the visibility of gardai in communities with Mr O’Shea attributing the deployment of a second garda to the station in Littleton in October for the fall in crime in the area.

Preliminary garda figures for early 2016 suggest there has been a marked decrease in burglaries since the start of the year.

Jack Nolan, assistant garda commissioner, has confirmed that there was a 37 per cent drop in the crime in the capital during the first two months of 2016.

He claimed the decrease was greater than might be expected due to seasonal trends and attributed the results to the success of Operation Thor which has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests for burglary-related offences since its introduction last autumn.

A Garda source said: “It’s a case that many of these burglars are now aware they are being targeted and that has led to them to cease or reduce a lot of their usual activities.”

Commenting on the latest CSO figures, Frances Fitzgerald, the justice minister, expressed satisfaction that targeted garda operations combined with the recruitment of 1,150 extra gardaí and the introduction of tougher sentencing for repeat offenders would continue to impact on crime levels.
In the final table, we look at where burglaries have been rising and falling during 2015 with red areas indicating a greater number of such crimes were reported last year compared to 2014. Green areas denote a fall in the number of burglaries while white areas signal no change

Policing to Standstill

Staffing levels fell in more than half of all 28 Garda divisions last year, despite the deployment of almost 300 newly-qualified gardaí in recent months.
 New figures obtained from An Garda Síochána show many parts of the country have experienced a continuing reduction in Garda numbers, notwithstanding a slight increase in the overall size of the force.
New recruits are barely outnumbering those quitting the force as 281 officers left An Garda Síochána last year through retirement, illness and resignations.
The latest figures reveal that Garda manpower decreased in 15 of the 28 divisions across Ireland during 2015 including all divisions within the Dublin Metropolitan Region which has the highest crime rate in the country.
There were 75 fewer gardaí in the capital at the start of 2016 compared to 12 months previously. Staffing levels in Dublin’s six Garda divisions fell by 2.1 % to 3,491 officers.
The reduction in gardaí in Dublin came despite the fact that 122 of the 296 newly qualified recruits were deployed to stations in the city in recent months.
The number of officers attached to the Garda Traffic Corps in Dublin also fell by 11% last year with the loss of 15 patrol officers.


Concerns about Garda resources to tackle gangland crime in Dublin have become a major focus of the general election campaign following two violent murders in the city in the past week.
Fianna Fáil justice spokesperson Niall Collins said the deterioration of Garda resources was being seen in the escalation of a gangland feud over the last week in Dublin.
“The fact that Garda strength dropped in 15 of the 28 divisions around the country is a major cause for concern. Fianna Fáil has been highlighting for years that communities across the country and the Dublin Metropolitan Region were being put at risk of increased crime rate in the country. Unfortunately this is being borne out on our streets on a daily basis now,” Mr Collins said
 “We have a panicked government that seems to have only recently woken up to the reality of burglaries and lawlessness. Fianna Fáil will ensure An Garda Síochána has the power, finance and political back-up to deliver safer communities.”
Mr Collins pointed out last year that the force was struggling to maintain its existing size with almost 1,500 gardaí eligible for retirement, while on average another 500 gardaí are out sick daily with another 230 on an incentivised career break.
Garda representative bodies have criticised the Government’s announcement of the establishment of a new 55-person armed support unit for Dublin earlier this week as “misleading” as the officers are being re-assigned from other parts of the force.
Other areas which have seen Garda numbers fall since the start of 2015 include Cork City (-2.8% cent), Limerick (-1.9 %), Galway (-1.6%), Wicklow and Cavan/Monaghan (both -1.5 % ).
Slight reductions were also recorded in Meath, Tipperary, Donegal and Sligo/Leitrim.
The latest figures are likely to place further pressure on Fine Gael and Labour over their record on tackling crime and on the provision of policing resources.
They come as Fine Gael will today launch its election policy on justice in Cork.
The government maintains the size of the force is set to increase further over the coming year following its sanctioning of the recruitment of 1,150 new gardaí by the end of 2016 following the reopening of the Garda Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary in September 2014.
“It is expected that a further 395 will attest by the end of this year which, taking account of projected retirements, will bring Garda numbers to around the 13,000 mark,” said the Minister for Justice, Frances Fitzgerald.
Even with the addition of new recruits, however, Garda numbers will still remain below levels since the Fine Gael-Labour coalition came into power in early 2011.
Since the end of 2010, staffing levels in Garda stations around the country have fallen by 1,416 to 10,911 last December – a reduction of 11.5%.
Figures provided under freedom of information legislation show the overall size of the force rose slightly in 2015 due to increases in staff based at Garda headquarters and National Services which includes the crime and security section and other specialist divisions such as the Criminal Assets Bureau and Garda National Drugs Unit.
The total size of the force last December was 12,816 compared to 12,799 at the end of 2014 – an increase of 17 officers or a rise of just 0.1%.



There has been a steady increase in the number of senior gardai at chief superintendent and superintendent level in the past 12 months, although there has been a sharp drop in the number of middle-ranking officers at inspector and sergeants level over the same period.
Some Garda divisions were allocated additional staff last year with the biggest increases recorded in Kildare (+3.7%), Kerry (+3.4%) and Waterford (+2.9%).
Other areas where Garda manpower levels grew by between 1% and 2% were Cork West, Kilkenny/Carlow, Clare, Mayo and Wexford.
A spokesman for Ms Fitzgerald said last night that the number of new recruits in the future will “outpace projected departures which are kept under continuous review to ensure appropriate recruitment levels.”
Meanwhile, gardaí have refused to provide The Times with a breakdown of staffing levels at the country’s Garda stations on the grounds of security, despite the fact that such information is routinely made available to TDs.
In what marks a major departure from how An Garda Síochána has treated such data until recently, a senior garda rejected this newspaper’s request for details on the number of officers attached to 563 individual stations.
The same information has been released on a regular basis by the Department of Justice over many years both under freedom of information legislation and in response to parliamentary questions from TDs without any apparent objection from gardaí.
 A senior garda refused the request on the basis that the information could be “reasonably expected, if used inappropriately, to prejudice or impair” gardaí’s operational capabilities.
Despite the fact that details of the number of gardaí based at individual stations can be found on the Oireachtas website, the gardaí said it would not provide such information due to its “operational sensitivity.”
“This information, if made available, could reasonably be expected to pose a risk to the safety of local gardaí when endeavouring to enforce legislation and keep the public peace in future,”
“If the number of gardaí were provided on a station level, it is reasonable to believe that a criminal organisation could use this information to assess the capabilities of the local gardaí to deal with certain types of crimes, thus prejudicing the garda organisation’s effectiveness in enforcing legislation.”
“The duty roster system in use in An Garda Síochána is available in the public domain and cross-referencing that system with the number of gardaí on a station basis could allow for a prediction to be made as to the response capabilities of gardaí by a criminal organisation.”
The garda said the release of such information constituted “an unnecessary risk.”
A Garda spokesman said last night the decision was the sole responsibility of the force’s FOI officer. He did not respond to a query as to whether such information would also now be refused to TDs in future.
A spokesman for Ms Fitzgerald said the justice minister had no role in any decisions taken by gardaí in fulfilment of their obligations under FOI legislation.
He also failed to respond to a specific query as to whether TDs should be able to continue to access figures on the number of gardaí based in individual stations.
The Social Democrat TD, Catherine Murphy, called for the release of the figures, criticising the decision as “a blow against open government.”
“We’re supposed to be moving towards an open society but without transparency there is no accountability,” said the Kildare North TD.
Ms Murphy doubted that such information would place individual gardaí at risk.
“Similar statistics like this have been released to my office in the past by parliamentary questions so you have to question why it is not now possible. What is clear is that scarce resources are being shuffled around in a constant game of catch-up. Policing should be proactive not reactive,” said
Ms Murphy.
Meanwhile, Independent TD Mattie McGrath has criticised both Ms Fitzgerald and An Garda Síochána over a delay in responding to a parliamentary question he submitted on Garda overtime over a month ago.
“I imagine this data is collated on a regular and systematic basis so the delay is dubious at best. Some TDs are experiencing absurd difficulties in obtaining information,” said the Tipperary TD.
Mr McGrath said there had been a consistent effort on the part of Ms Fitzgerald to frame the apparent increase in Garda resources as an effective response to the growing demand for on the ground policing.
“The impulse of Minister Fitzgerald seems to be to react ‘decisively’ to emergencies like the recent spate of gangland crime but yet ignore the systematic destabilisation of community policing that will in the long run contribute to a greater feeling of insecurity,” Mr McGrath said.
He added: “This minister is operating a fire-fighting policy that is feeding into the sense among criminals that they have the upper hand.”

My Vote - Your Vote

There must be a general election in the air…..as TDs’ attendance for votes in the Dáil has dropped significantly in recent months.

On average, 43% of TDs failed to show up for each division in the Dáil chamber since they returned to Leinster House after the summer holidays last September.

An analysis of the voting record of all 166 outgoing TDs over the lifetime of the current Dáil shows that an increasing numbers of deputies haven’t bothered to turn up for votes with every passing year since they were elected in 2011.

The overall absentee rate from Dáil votes rose consistently from just 21.5% in 2011 to 39.9% in 2015.

Since they returned after the Christmas holidays, approximately half of all TDs failed to cast a vote for each of the 23 divisions called in January with the Dáil sometimes struggling to find a quorum of 20 deputies.

Over the six sitting days of the Dáil in January – nine TDs have failed to show up for any vote: independent TDs Michael Lowry and Eamonn Maloney; Renua Ireland leader, Lucinda Creighton and her party colleague, Billy Timmins; Fianna Fáil’s Willie O’Dea; Labour TDs Eamon Gilmore and Willie Penrose and Fine Gael TDs James Bannon and Tony Mc Loughlin.

In contrast, seven TDs had a perfect attendance record over the same period despite the impending election: the Government chief whip, Paul Kehoe and Fine Gael deputies, Dinny McGinley, Jim Daly, Joe Carey and Derek Keating and Labour TD, Emmet Stagg and Robert Dowds.

Even allowing for TDs switching to election mode since the Christmas break, the attendance record of many has waned considerably since last summer with 62 TDs failing to show up for more than half of all votes.

Since September former Labour and now Independent TD for Dublin South West, Eamonn Maloney missed 96% of all votes followed by former Tánaiste, Eamonn Gilmore who failed to show up for 95% of votes.

Another independent TD, Michael Lowry, didn’t cast a vote in 93% of Dáil divisions over the same period.

Over the lifetime of the current Dáil, the controversial Tipperary TD has missed more votes than any other politician with the exception of Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, whose absence from the chamber is excused because of Government business.

Mr Lowry has recorded a non-attendance rate of almost three out of every four votes since 2011.

All three Renua TDs – Lucinda Creighton, Terence Flanagan and Billy Timmins – have each been absent for over 80% of votes since last autumn.

Another of the country’s newest political parties, the Social Democrats also has one of the poorest attendance rates with the party’s three TDs collectively missing 57.5% of all votes.

Of the four larger parties Sinn Féin TDs are the most regular voters in the Dáil, being absent for just 22% of all votes over the lifetime of the current administration.

At 29% Fine Gael’s absentee rate was marginally better than its coalition partner, Labour, whose TDs missed 31% of all votes. Fianna Fáil deputies failed to show up for 38% of votes on average, with the figure rising to 49% last year.

Commenting on the figures David Farrell professor of politics at UCD, said they provided more evidence of the weakness of the Dáil and how it was treated as an irrelevancy by many politicians.

“It’s unfortunate but unsurprising. So much of what is wrong with our political system is based on the lack of accountability of the Government,” said Prof Farrell.

He claimed the increasing absentee rate by most TDs showed their frustration at how the Dáil effectively just “rubber-stamped” Government decisions.

Prof Farrell observed that the poorer attendance rate of Labour TD in the past 12 months could be related to"people with marginal seats needing to focus on their constituency" 

The same trend among Fianna Fáil TD could be interpreted as a sign of the "a sense that the party has lost its way somewhat over the last year." Prof Farrell said.

TDs who served the full term of the 31^st Dáil were eligible to cast a vote on 959 occasions over the past five years.

Unlike in previous parliaments, no arrangement existed in the outgoing Dáil whereby Opposition parties offered Government ministers and TDs a “pair” to facilitate anyone away on official State business because of the size of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition majority.

Government backbenchers know they face little sanction from party whips if they skip a vote because of the Government’s majority is virtually assured.

The Ceann Comhairle, Seán Barrett only casts a vote in the event of a tie.

The best attendance rate in the past five years was recorded by Cork South Central TD, Jerry Buttimer who missed less than 4% of all votes, narrowly ahead of his Fine Gael colleague from Galway, Seán Kyne who missed just under 5% of votes. Other TDs who diligently voted for the vast majority of votes include Sinn Féin’s Sandra McLellan, Fine Gael TDs, Joe Carey, Bernard Durkan and Dan Neville and Labour’s Seán Kenny.

Glanbia - Milking the Government's Indulgence

* A story that kind of slipped under the radar in terms of public awareness.

by Seán McCárthaigh

Glanbia facilitated breaches of rules governing the allocation of milk quotas by one of the group’s own directors, according to a Department of Agriculture report.

It concluded that Glanbia – one of the country’s largest public limited companies – had taken verbal instructions a non-executive director, Bill Carroll, “to facilitate an incorrect reallocation of milk supplies between two suppliers.”

Mr Carroll, a dairy farmer from outside Clonmel, Co Tipperary, resigned as a director of Glanbia in November in the wake of the controversy.

Letter written on behalf of Simon Coveney to Glanbia on June 4, 2014

An investigation by the Department of Agriculture examined allegations that he had sold almost €300,000 of milk to Glanbia from his Co Tipperary farm using the quota attached to Clongowes Wood College, a well-known private boarding school run by the Jesuits in Co Kildare.

Milk quota rules stipulate that farmers are prohibited from supplying milk that has not been produced by their own cows on their holdings. Anyone who infringes such regulations is liable for substantial fines if they supply more than their quota.

Documents obtained by the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act show the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney was highly critical of Glanbia’s role in the controversy.

A report by his officials into milk quota irregularities found Glanbia’s recording system was not operated in accordance with milk quota regulations.

It found the group’s systems were “amenable to alteration on the basis of a verbal instruction, either from a party outside or within the company, and the necessary robust checks and balances were not in place.”

A letter written to Glanbia’s chief executive, Jim Bergin, on behalf of Mr Coveney in June 2014 stated: “It is clear the control systems employed within your company were not, in this instance, of regulatory standard and were contrary to the departmental rules in relation to the administration of milk quotas and that [Glanbia] as a result facilitated a series of non-compliant transactions.”

The department ordered Glanbia to take immediate action to reallocate the milk incorrectly allocated to Clongowes Wood College to Mr Carroll’s account and to collect the appropriate superlevy from him – an amount of €143,000.

It required the company to address control weaknesses in its quota management system and to inform the department exactly what measures it had taken.

The department also instructed Glanbia to arrange and fund independent verification that its control weaknesses had been identified.

Mr Bergin was informed that the matter had also been referred to the Chief State Solicitor to see if a criminal prosecution was warranted.

He replied: “We trust that further action will not be necessary.”

The department was forced to contact Glanbia again last October after it emerged that Mr Carroll had benefitted from the distribution of unused milk quota – known as flexi-milk – to the value of €30,000.

Follow-up letter to Glanbia on Oct 22, 2015

The department’s assistant general secretary, Brendan Gleeson, ordered Glanbia to withdraw any flexi-milk allocation to Mr Carroll and to arrange to collect any outstanding superlevy from him. The letter again expressed Mr Coveney’s “deep concern” about “the manner in which this matter has been dealt with by Glanbia.”

The department instructed Glanbia to redistribute the superlevy collected from Mr Carroll to the 290 famers who had been disadvantaged by about €112 each as a result of the allocation to the form

In a reply on November 6 last year Mr Begin said Glanbia had “at all times taken this matter very seriously and co-operated fully with the department’s investigation.”

The Glanbia chief executive acknowledged that an internal review carried out by the group on foot of the allegations against Mr Carroll had highlighted there was “insufficient documentation in place to support the manual amendments processed by Glanbia milk department.”

However, Mr Bergin also stressed that it was “an isolated incident involving a range of exceptional circumstances.”

During a Dáil debate in November, Mr Coveney said he had accepted the recommendation of his officials that a criminal prosecution of the matter should not be pursued.

The minister declined to reveal the legal advice he had received from the Chief State solicitor but said his officials had regard to the fact that corrective action was taken, there was no financial gain for any of the parties  and a superlevy had been paid.

Sinn Féin TD, Martin Ferris observed the case “stinks to high heaven.”  “This was blatant attempted fraud at the very least,” said the Kerry North TD.

He claimed he had received information that the Chief State Solicitor had recommended the issue be referred to gardaí.

M Coveney said he had been advised by the department’s secretary general, Aidan O’Driscoll, that the facts of the case were “not so clear as to provide a sufficient degree of probability that a prosecution would succeed.”

The Department refused to release documents containing a record of an interview carried out under caution with Mr Carroll.

Catching the Burglars....Or Not.

Seven out of ten of the most serious crimes against property are going unsolved, with non-detection rates in some Garda districts in excess of 80%.

An investigation by The Times has found that only four out of the country’s 96 Garda districts solved more than half of all robberies, burglaries and thefts in their area in 2015.

The figures, published for the first time today, show detection rates at Garda district level for the three main offences involving property — robbery, burglary and theft.

Overall, gardai are successful in solving only 30 per cent of these cases on average, based on official crime figures between January 2013 and the end of September 2015.

The main criteria for classifying an offence as “detected” is when criminal proceedings have been commenced against at least one suspected offender.

The figures reveal a big disparity in the performance of gardaí stationed in 96 districts across the country in catching offenders for such crimes.

In 2015, gardaí based at the five stations within the Leixlip district of Co Kildare had the worst detection rate for robbery, burglary and theft, with less than 14% of all cases solved. The district covers several large towns including Maynooth and Celbridge.

The two other districts in Co Kildare — Naas and Kildare Town — also have comparatively low detection rates, both at about 20%..

Independent TD for Kildare North, Catherine Murphy, , said that the figures were a cause for concern because burglary and theft were among the few crimes that were on the increase in recent years.

Ms Murphy said she believed that there was a clear link between detection rates and Garda manpower levels because Kildare had the lowest number of gardaí of any county in Ireland on a per capita basis.

“The annual policing plan published by An Garda Síochána is a work of fiction, as it does not take into account demographic changes by putting more gardaí into areas where there have been large increases in population, like Kildare,” she said.

Most of the districts with the lowest detection rates are located in Dublin and counties surrounding the capital. They include Clondalkin, Balbriggan and Dun Laoghaire as well as Baltinglass, Co Wicklow and Ashbourne and Trim in Co Meath. Other areas with detection rates of 20% or less include the two Galway districts of Clifden and Salthill.

Two of the four districts where more than 50% of crimes are solved are located in Kerry — Tralee and Listowel.

Gardai based at the nine stations in the Tralee district, which includes the towns of Dingle and Castleisland, had the best detection rate in the country last year, with offenders apprehended in 56% of all property-related crimes.

Detection rates in urban areas are not universally lower than rural stations because gardaí based in two city centre locations in Dublin and Cork — Store Street and Anglesea Street respectively — both made arrests for more than half of all robberies, burglaries and thefts within their districts in the first nine months of last year.

Other districts with above-average detection rates were predominantly based in Munster and included Clonmel, Dungarvan, Ennis, Bandon, Midleton and the Togher district of Cork city.

Over the past three years, gardaí based in the main district in Cork city — Anglesea Street — had the best record in Ireland, solving on average more than 56% of all robberies, burglaries and thefts in its area.

The Garda district of Ashbourne, Co Meath, has the highest rate of unsolved property crimes with an average of 86 per cent of such offences going undetected between 2013 and 2015.

Thirteen other districts have also failed to catch offenders in more than 80% of cases over the period. They include seven districts based in Dublin including Balbriggan, Clondalkin, Terenure and Dun Laoghaire as well as more rural areas such as Baltinglass, Co Wicklow; Thomastown, Co Kilkenny; Clifden, Co Galway and Bruff, Co Limerick.

A Garda spokesman said that the force was introducing a series of new measures designed to improve detection rates, including an enhanced investigator training programme, standardisation of investigative practices, and increased use of data analytics.

He said that detection rates were closely monitored by Garda management.

“In order to protect and support communities, we are implementing a range of initiatives to enhance our investigative capabilities,” he said.

Gardaí plan to increase their use of technology such as CCTV and automatic number plate recognition as well as of forensics and biometrics, including the new DNA database, to solve crime.