There has been a 68 per cent increase in domestic violence cases forwarded for potential prosecution this year.
The new figures have been released under the Freedom of Information Act.
In the first five months of 2020, Gardaí sent 327 domestic violence files to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
They were looking for the go-ahead to bring people to court for the offence.
That number increased to 550 between January and May of this year.
60 per cent of this year's cases were in Dublin, with 328 files received by the DPP.
Criminal barrister and Fine Gael Dublin senator, Barry Ward, says the figures are "stark" and "shocking" and believes the Covid-19 lockdowns are one of the main explanations for the increase.
"Because of the pandemic circumstances, people were put in situations they might not otherwise have been in", he says.
