A NEW report has strongly rejected claims that contributions to Irish charities have been affected by the National Lottery.

Research by economic consultants DKM, commissioned by the National Lottery Company, has shown that, despite the growing number of lottery and gaming products, the amount of money pledged through personal donations to charitable causes has been consistently rising.

Between 1991 and 1995, the report estimates that, exclusive of Government grants, contributions to charities in Ireland have risen by 53 per cent from £129.1 million to £198.1 million.

Some charities feel that at this stage the National Lottery has become well established and that its impact on charitable donations has diminished", said the report.

Most charities contacted by DKM insisted that increased competition from the lottery, together with the growing number of charities, had forced them to adopt more costly and sophisticated fund raising methods.

But the report adds that, as most of them have come to increasingly depend on Government and National Lottery grants, it has also had the effect of leaving charities less dependent on private fund raising activities.

The report is the third to be commissioned by the National Lottery to examine its economic impact since it began operating in 1987. It shows that competition from the British lottery, bookmakers' lotto and lotto draws in clubs and pubs has affected its sales.

The British Lottery created most of the fall off, with the number of people playing the National Lottery in Northern Ireland sharply down over the past 18 months.

According to DKM, Northern Ireland contributed close to £20 million, or almost 8 per cent of the Republic's lottery sales in 1994. In March 1995, it estimates that this had fallen to around £15 million as people switched to gamble on bigger jackpots in the British lottery.

It says the bookmakers' "Lucky Numbers" game has attracted up to 200,000 regular participants which it believes has diverted at least another £25 million in revenue from the National Lottery. And while there are no figures available to indicate how many people are involved in local lotto draws, it says the rise in these draws over the past couple of years will affect sales of Lotto and scratch cards.

Since its last report in 1992, DKM says there is little evidence of any great change in the type of people participating in the Lotto and there in no noticeable increase in the amount of money being generally spent on this type of gaming.

It estimates that slightly more men (64 per cent) gamble on National Lottery instant games and the Lotto than women (62 per cent). The majority of people are aged between 25 and 50, the report says.

A high proportion of the unemployed are still gambling on its various games, with up to 65 per cent of those out of work typically spending money on the Lotto.

Between 1987 and 1995, the report says the National Lottery distributed more than £610 million to beneficiary projects. The health and welfare sector was the biggest recipient of National Lottery funds over that period receiving £209 million, according to the report. More than £209 million was granted to fund projects for youth, sport and the provision of other amenities in the community. A further £151 million was distributed to support ventures in arts, culture and heritage while £44.8 million went to the Irish language.