Reaction: The Government should conduct a national survey on sexual behaviour and attitudes among young people in order to inform State policy and programmes on the issue, according to the Irish Family Planning Association.
It criticised the Government for deleting questions on sex and contraception contained in a World Health Organisation questionnaire last year.
The IFPA was responding to a youth poll in yesterday's Irish Times which revealed one in four 15- to 17-year-olds have had sex.
The association said while polls undertaken by health boards in the last 12 months had revealed similar trends, a more complete picture of teen sex and attitudes was needed.
IFPA chief executive Ms Catherine Heaney said while some preliminary work is already under way by statutory agencies to prepare the way for a national survey, it must target younger teenagers in order to make its findings relevant.
"It is crucial that the main focus of such a survey will be young people, including those under the age of 17. If this age group is ignored, the survey will have little value",
The traditional reluctance to ascertain the experiences and attitudes of teenagers on sex had been reinforced by the deletion of questions on the issue contained in the WHO survey, she added. The survey was conducted via a questionnaire distributed by the WHO in Irish schools last year.
The Fine Gael spokeswoman on health and children, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said she was not surprised by the findings of The Irish Times poll. While schools and health boards had worked to raise awareness on sex amongst teenagers "it all amounts to nothing if it they are not getting [the guidance] in the home".
"The most alarming thing from the poll is that 9 per cent of teenagers are having unprotected sex. And teenagers in the less well off areas have sex earlier and are less likely to use contraception," she said.
Teenagers needed to be made aware of the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases. "We are becoming a more multicultural society and they are exposing themselves to all sorts of STDs, and that's in every town, not just in Dublin".
To younger woman, "foreigners seem more exotic and more attractive". The fact teenagers were having sex in great numbers at such a young age meant they had been "sexualised" even earlier in their lives, which was a "sad development".
Ms Mitchell added there was a need to build confidence amongst teenage girls that it was "OK to say No". Teenage boys also needed to take on greater responsibility.
Labour's spokeswoman on health and children, Ms Liz McManus, said the poll showed "romantic Ireland was dead and gone". The current generation of teenagers was "very different to those who came before", and it was worth noting the number of sexual partners they have had.