The Government Chief Whip Regina Doherty has said she is ashamed by the funding cuts Fine Gael made to domestic abuse services.

She said: “I can’t explain that. I’m ashamed and embarrassed by it.”

Her comments come as new data shows nine in 10 women killed in Ireland were murdered by a male partner or a man they knew.

A totla of 209 women have been killed violently since 1996, with 16 children dying alongside their mothers in that time frame.

Figures show 54% of women killed violently over the past 20 years were murdered by a partner or an ex. A further 33% were killed by someone they knew.

Director of Women’s Aid Margaret Martin says the men involved are not always the ‘type’ you would suspect.

She said: “These are respectable men, very often, well respected in their community. That can be a trigger of deep fear (for women).”

Meanwhile, director of the National Domestic Violence Intervention Agency Don Hennessy said there needed to be a more critical view of abusive men.

“Nobody is diagnosing or analysing the man, and until such time as we look at the tumour, we can’t cure the cancer.”