Teens caught up in surge of sex diseases

HSE figures reveal cases have soared by 70% in last year

- EOGHAN MURPHY

A TOTAL of 783 people under the age of 19 have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection this year.

Alarmingly, figures from the HSE show two children were under 14 while the others were aged between 15 and 19.

Beaumont Hospital consultant Bill Tormey has raised his concerns about this.

He said: "The age of consent to sex in Ireland is 17 years.

"A person under 17 years may not give consent to sex and there is no 'Romeo and Juliet' close-in age exemption in Ireland.

"Sex under 17 may result in prosecution for statutory rape." In total, 8,092 people have picked up an STI so far in 2023 an increase of 70% on the same time last year.

They're most prevalent among 20 to 24-year-olds, with this age -group accounting for over a third of the cases this year.