Nearly 19,500 domestic abuse incidents have been reported to gardai so far this year, new figures have revealed.
Labour's Marie Sherlock said gardai must ensure there are enough supports in place to support people who have been brave enough to contact them in the first instance.
She raised the issue when she questioned Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan on the number of reported domestic and sexual-based violence cases.
Between the start of the year and May 27, 19,417 cases were reported. 1,329 of these incidents were reported in the Louth/Cavan/Monaghan Garda District.
Nationally, 6,267 incidents were reported in the six Dublin Garda districts. The largest number of reports of a Garda Division was in the Northern district of the Dublin Metropolitan Region, where 1,552 people reported domestic abuse since January 1st of this year.
