Headline crime drops

The number of headline crimes reported to gardaí was down slightly over the past year, according to the Central Statistics Office.

In its latest quarterly crime report, the CSO says reported headline crime was down 1.1% in the 12 months to June this year.

However, the number of murders was up three to 68 over this period, while the number of manslaughters was up two to 60.

Elsewhere, assaults and drugs offences were also up over the 12-month period, but sexual offences were down by 12.5%.

Burglaries, thefts and robberies were also down.