Every day in 2014 up to 14 women who were seeking refuge from domestic violence were not able to access accommodation.

SAFE Ireland says it is the highest number of unmet requests for accommodation since 2008.

The charity says this is a daily average of nearly 5,000 unmet requests from women over a full year.

The charity is calling on politicians to ensure domestic violence becomes a priority for the next government.

The annual statistics show that 9,448 women and 3,068 children - over 12,500 people in total - received direct support and/or accommodation from a domestic violence service in Ireland in 2014.

Domestic violence services across the country also answered nearly 50,000 helpline support and information calls.

In total, 1,658 women and 2,309 children were living in refuge in 2014.

Of the children who stayed in refuge for a period of time, 899 were aged under-four - including 217 babies under one - and 422 were aged between 10 and 14.

The CEO of Safe Ireland is Sharon O'Halloran.