Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today, 1 December, is World AIDS Day. It is important that we highlight the issue of AIDS. The average number of people to contract AIDS annually in this country is 350. To date in 2015, however, there seems to have been an increase. One factor is that there are better tests available and more people are aware of the syndrome. The population, especially young people, needs to be aware of the importance of sexual health education, and the curriculum in schools should be fully taught. AIDS was an issue people did not even dream of talking about a number of years ago. People totally distanced themselves from it or anyone who had AIDS. We have moved on from that but it is important that sexual health and the risks be dealt with comprehensively among all students in schools during the year. It is worrying that the number identified with AIDS this year has increased by comparison with other years. We need to be careful about this.