There has been an alarming rise in sexually transmitted infections in Ireland over the last year.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) shows that two infections in particular are on the rise.

Figures up to the end of September show that notifications for chlamydia are up 43% on the same period last year, while notifications for gonorrhoea are up 95%.

The HSPC said the most affected groups continue to be young people aged 15 to 24 years old and men who have sex with men.

Protection

Pharmacist Laura Dowling told Newstalk many people are not protecting themselves when having sex.

“We need to be realistic, people just aren’t using condoms,” she said.

“Unfortunately, even using things like the contraceptive pill etc. has declined but it is important that the conversation does happen around condoms because they are a really good way of protecting yourself.

“Then, having conversations with your partner. If you are going to have sex with someone and be intimate with someone you can’t be too embarrassed to have a conversation with them about their sexual health.

“Ultimately, it is your health that is at risk if you are having sex with someone that isn’t looking after their own sexual health.”

Behaviours

She said society has also seen some change in behaviours – particularly when compared to the pandemic.

“There is more casual sex certainly since the pandemic happened, where we were not in contact with a lot of people,” she said.

She said the new at-home testing kits are also having an impact.

“The HSE did start sending out home testing kits to people to get checked in the comfort of their own home and as a result, that is showing an increase in numbers because a lot of STIs are actually asymptomatic which means you don’t have any symptoms.”

Sex Education

Ms Dowling said education is crucial.

“We need to be having many more conversations,” she said. “We need to be realistic about how people are having sex, when they have sex and how many people they have sex with.

“Absolutely, if people are educated, they are empowered and informed."

In the first nine months of the year, there were 4981 cases of Gonorrhoea – up from 2561 during the same period last year.

Cases of Chlamydia have increased from 6973 in the first nine months of last year to 9949 this year.

The HSE began supplying free ‘at home’ STI test kits for anyone over the age of 17.

You can order a free test at SH24.ie.