An organisation running women's refuges says they have to turn away 70% of requests for help.
The government is planning to set up a new agency to oversee the response to sexual, domestic and gender-based violence.
Following the murder of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore last month, the government promised its gender-based violence strategy would have a zero-tolerance approach.
Part of the plan will be a new agency which will co-ordinate the delivery of services to victims, offer support and make sure government departments are working together.
A report by Tusla has highlighted gaps in the availability of refuge spaces in parts of the country.
Allison Graham is CEO of Saoirse - which runs a number of refuges in Dublin - and says demand has been outpacing supply, even before Covid: "We have been open 15 years and, on average, we turn away about 70% of the requests for refuge because we just don’t have space.
"That experience is very similar across the country."
It's expected to be at least a year and a half before the new agency is fully up and running.
Reporting by Stephen Murphy
