Domestic violence services are unable to cope with the demands being placed on them, Safe Ireland has warned.

According to the latest statistics from the national domestic violence organisation, services were unable to meet up to 14 requests every day from women seeking safe accommodation in 2014 - that is over 4,800 requests per year which are not being met.

This is the highest number of unmet requests for vital accommodation that has been recorded by Safe Ireland since it began compiling these statistics in 2008.

According to the organisation's CEO, Sharon O'Halloran, these figures display Ireland's ‘abject failure' at facing up to the reality of domestic violence.

"We hear stories about children growing up in hotel rooms. But now we are seeing children growing up in refuges - spending their formative years living in emergency accommodation. We have to face up to domestic violence as a mark of our humanity and as a measure of a society. Otherwise, we will continue to fail women, fail children, and fail generations," she commented.

The latest figures reveal that in 2014, more than 12,500 people, including over 3,000 children, received direct support and/or accommodation from a domestic violence service.

These services nationwide also answered over 49,000 helpline calls.

A total of 1,658 women and 2,309 children were living in refuges in 2014. Among these children, almost 900 were under the age of four. Some 217 were under the age of one.

Ms O'Halloran pointed out that the increasing gap between rent allowances and rent prices, along with a severe lack of suitable housing, means that most women have nowhere to go if they need to leave their current home as a result of domestic violence.

For those who do get a place in a refuge, they often have to stay there for long periods of time, which places even more pressure on emergency accommodation for other women. As a result, many victims end up returning to abusive homes.

"Let's be clear, no woman was left without help and support by our member services. They work tirelessly to do everything they can to ensure that women are supported to find safety. But they are doing so against ever-tougher conditions and against mounting systemic barriers.

"Instead of being able to provide options for safety with women, our member organisations are dictated to by restrictions - by what's not possible rather than what's possible," Ms O'Halloran explained.

The figures were released as part of Safe Ireland's General Election rally - #FaceUpToDomesticViolence. During the rally, the organisation launched its Election Manifesto, which is calling on the incoming government to ensure the following three actions within its first 100 days in power:

-The allocation of an additional €30 million annually from 2017 to address gaps experienced by struggling services, including housing services
-The appointment of a minister, department and cabinet sub-committee to bring about a whole of government response to domestic violence
-The enactment of new legislation on domestic violence and victims' rights, with a commitment to looking at the definition of domestic violence.

"If the next government commits to these three powerful actions in the first 100 days, it will be telling women and children that finally, their government, their country and their fellow citizens are prepared to face up to domestic violence," Ms O'Halloran added.

To read the latest statistics from Safe Ireland, click here