Either the Ulster fry is an aphrodisiac or the Celtic Tigers and Tigresses are cracking under the pressure. A report issued yesterday revealed that people in Northern Ireland were having more sex for longer than their Republic of Ireland counterparts.
The report, by condom-makers Durex, also said unprotected sex was on the increase among young adults in the Republic and in Northern Ireland. According to the report, the average adult in the State has sex 122 times a year. Northerners are more active, with the average frequency now 125 times a year.
Figures for both groups were up slightly on 1998.
Across Ireland couples who are living together or married were found to have sex more often than single people.
Couples in Northern Ireland also spend more time over their lovemaking than southern lovers, the survey says. The average sexual encounter takes 20.4 minutes in the Republic, compared to 21.6 minutes in Northern Ireland.
Almost half the women questioned said that after sex they liked a hug from their partner but only 32 per cent said their men obliged. For their part, 28 per cent of men said they would like to repeat proceedings straight away, while the majority of women said they would prefer to go to the bathroom or smoke a cigarette.
The survey also showed an increase in the number of young adults having unprotected sex. Almost a quarter of 17-20-year-olds said they had sex with a new partner without using a contraceptive in the previous 12 months, up 6 per cent in the Republic and 4 per cent in the North on last year's figures.
The survey, commissioned by Durex, was of 1,045 respondents aged 17-39 in Northern Ireland and the Republic.