There was an 11% increase in domestic violence orders granted in Irish courts last year.

Judges took action in nearly 10,000 cases of abuse.

There are three types of orders the courts can give people who suffer domestic violence: safety, protection and barring orders.

These are designed to prevent an abuser from committing further violence.

According to details released under the Freedom of Information Act, the number of these orders granted rose from just over 8,900 in 2017 to more than 9,900 in 2018.

There was a 10% increase in the Dublin District Court area last year, where more than 3,200 orders were granted.

There were a 47% increase in Trim, Meath where 674 orders were granted in 2018.

Other areas with large number of domestic violence orders granted were Bray, Galway, Portlaoise, Waterford and Naas.

Sarah Benson is the chief executive of Women's Aid.

"We would hope that that might be as a result of greater awareness, and also less stigma, around the issue of domestic violence and abuse - which makes it more accessible and acceptable for people to acknowledge what they're going through, to discuss it with supporters and then also to seek support through the courts".

A new offence called coercive control, which involves psychological abuse, came into effect on January 1st.

No one has been convicted under this legislation so far.

Anyone affected by issues raised in this article can contact Women's Aid on 1800-341-900

Reporting by Eoghan Murphy