The support group Women's Aid today staged a demonstration outside the Dail in memory of the 107 females killed in domestic violence situations in the Republic over the past nine years.
The group held a minute's silence against a backdrop of a giant "in memorium" card to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women.
"There have been 107 women murdered in 108 months, more than 80 per cent of them by a man known to them an almost half by a current or former partner.
"The seriousness of the levels of violence against women in Ireland today and the failure of the system to keep women safe cannot be over-emphasised," said Ms Margaret Martin, Director of Women's Aid.
She also sought to dispel a perception that violence against women had stopped and said calls to their helpline were on the increase. She also pointed out that 52 per cent of calls went unanswered due to lack of resources.
She said the voluntary organisation had not had an increase in funding since 2002 and there was no mention of extra funding in the recently published Book of Estimates.
"The political will to take this issue seriously must be translated into adequate funding in this year's Budget," she said.