Representatives from the National Lottery are due to appear before an Oireachtas Committee next week as the controversial €19 million jackpot has still not been won.
This comes after Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan called for an urgent probe into the “unwinnable” lotto draw.
The record-breaking jackpot has been rolling since it was last won on June 5th.
Following the news that representatives from the National Lottery and the Office of the Regulator are due before the Finance Committee next Wednesday, Mr Durkan said there are a series of questions which need to be asked.
“The time has come for some pertinent questions,” Mr Durkan said.
“A lot can happen in six months. Dublin's footballers’ unbeaten run came to an end, a Summer heatwave came and went, Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, Omicron replaced Delta, Barbados became a republic and Wally the Walrus visited our shores and left – without winning the lotto jackpot like the rest of us,” he added.
“I see in recent weeks the lotto has begun taking out a series of advertisements across media and social media to show how the money is spread about. They’d be better off spending this outlay examining their own systems.”
He said he hopes to receive answers as to how old the National Lottery technology is, how often the technology upgraded and the feasibility of removing balls from the draw to increase the chances of the jackpot being won.
Mr Durkan, who is on both the Oireachtas Finance and Public Expenditure committees, previously received backing from the Taoiseach to “see what is making those balls spin” in the “unwinnable” lotto.
After the concerns were first raised the National Lottery did concede that the lotto jackpot going unclaimed for six months is “an unusual event”.
