THE amount of burglaries in the Tralee area rose by 19.4% in between 2012 and 2014.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office reveal that in 2012 there were 454 burglaries in the Tralee division, in 2013 there were 453 and in 2014 there were 542.

Figures published in the Irish Independent today show that in the first six months of this year there have been 244 burglaries in the Tralee division.

Stations in Abbeydorney, Camp and Fenit fall under the Tralee division. The figures show that since the closure of rural Garda stations, burglaries have increased in rural areas.

The rise in burglaries in the Tralee area is echoed in Killarney which also saw a 19% increase in cases. Nationally, there were 28,830 burglaries which is an increase of 8.4%.