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Dramatic new changes in sexual behaviour in Ireland
Irish Times, Oct 17, 06
Study finds dramatic changes in sexual behaviour
Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent

There have been dramatic changes in the sexual behaviour of Irish people over recent decades as well as in their attitudes to issues such as the use of emergency contraception, a major new study has confirmed.
Conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the research shows there is an increased trend among young men towards paying for sex and that significant numbers of people are engaging in risky sexual behaviour.
The research, which is based on a telephone survey of almost 7,500 people across the State in the 18 to 64 year age bracket, says the incidence of sexually transmitted infections has increased by 243 per cent between 1998 and 2003.
However, despite this, 14 per cent of people surveyed, for example, did not use a condom when having sex with a person they had just met for the first time because "they trusted their partner" not to have a sexually transmitted disease.
The Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships, published yesterday, is the first large-scale study of its type to have been conducted in the State.
It found attitudes towards abortion "have undergone immense change since the early 1980s", with 64 per cent of those surveyed now saying abortion is acceptable in at least some circumstances.
Furthermore it found just 6 per cent of people now think premarital sex is always wrong, compared to 71 per cent back in 1973.
More than 90 per cent of people also believe emergency contraception should be available in Ireland, with 52 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women believing it should be available without prescription.
Minister for Health Mary Harney, who yesterday attended the publication of the report in Dublin, said it would be a matter for the Irish Medicines Board to decide whether the morning-after pill should be made available over the counter.
"There are many arguments for making much medication available over the counter," she said. "It is more convenient but clearly it can only be done if it is medically safe to do so."
The report, commissioned by the Department of Health and the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, also found the age at which Irish people first have sex is falling.
Over the last 40 years, the age of first sex has dropped by five years for men and by six years for women. The median age at which young people first had sex in this study was found to be 17 years. The report said serious attention should be given to reducing the cost of contraception in the Republic, especially the cost of condoms.
The report had found that 32 per cent of women said the cost of the contraceptive pill would discourage them from using it, while some 15 per cent of all those surveyed said the cost of condoms would discourage their use.
Last night Progressive Democrats TD Fiona O'Malley said cost should not be a consideration when it came to contraception. She said condoms incurred VAT of 21 per cent, which means they were classified as a "luxury item" but she said it should be reduced. She would be asking Minister for Finance Brian Cowen to address this in the budget, she added.
The report said it was now time to develop a national sexual health strategy and to survey the attitudes and behaviours of under-18s and over-64s, the age groups excluded from this research.
Ms Harney said the growing number of young people having sex before 17 years of age was of concern. She said sex education was essential both at school and within the home and teachers and parents needed to be resourced to be able to provide it.
It was a matter for the Health Service Executive and the Crisis Pregnancy Agency to devise an action plan on foot of the report's findings, she added. © The Irish Times Charlene Smith Johannesburg South Africa 082 495 8716 +27 11 646 7637