Madam, - I refer to the reported remarks by my esteemed colleague and friend, John Bruton, regarding the IFPA publications on sexuality (The Irish Times, July 2nd). I have seen these booklets, which are aimed at 12- to 16-year-olds and they are certainly a lot more direct and explicit than anything I saw when I was that age; but at that stage most of us knew nothing about sex and sexuality. We were more likely to be ignorant, naïve and romantic and many tragedies resulted from that.
The IFPA is the lead agency to which young people turn when worried and frightened about sexual behaviour and the consequences. Many of these young people fear the reaction of their parents who, in the best of worlds, would be the first port of call for help. Recent findings indicate that 18 per cent of clients in the Dublin Centre City Clinic were teenagers and the commonest services sought by new clients was emergency contraception.
The legal age below which sex is a criminal offence, according to the Attorney General, is 17 for girls, (as stipulated in the IFPA leaflet on page 13), 15 for boys and 17 for homosexual relations. The IFPA, in my experience, has always acted responsibly in these matters.
My memory of the bruising encounters and public debates concerning information on or availability of contraception are very real and quite recent. The IFPA offers services to more than 12,000 clients per year and its excellent network of clinics have been of enormous importance for families in Ireland.
The national pregnancy statistics graphically indicate that sexual activity is occurring below these ages. I know for the vast majority of parents our deepest wish is that our children will experience their sexuality in the context of a warm and loving relationship based on values of commitment and care, as clearly does John Bruton.
Unfortunately the reality of inappropriate exposure to sexuality at a young age is something we have to live with and the provision of relevant information is very important if we are to confront adequately the dangers young people are facing now. - Yours, etc.,
MARY BANOTTI, MEP, European Parliament Offices, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.