STI notifications in Ireland decrease - reduce your risk, reduce the spread

Published:

Trends to the end of 2024
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has published annual data on STIs for 2024, today 3rd June 2025. There has been an 11% decrease in the STI notification rate in 2024 compared with 2023 however the STI notification rate remains 31% higher than pre COVID-19 pandemic year 2019.

Background
STIs present a significant Public Health challenge with over 1 million STIs being acquired globally every day. With the introduction of World Health Organization (WHO) targets for STIs in July 2022, there is renewed focus on STIs. The WHO has published Global Health Sector Strategies on, respectively, HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections for the period 2022-2030 (GHSS). Agreed by the World Health Assembly in May 2022, the new strategies propose a common vision to end AIDS and the epidemics of STIs and viral hepatitis by 2030.

Though STIs are usually easily treatable, some STIs can cause serious health issues such as infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease. Many people are unaware that they have an STI as they are often asymptomatic.

There are steps that everyone can take to look after their sexual health, reducing the risk of contracting STIs, via condom use, and reducing further spread by testing promptly, getting appropriate treatment and informing partners so they can be tested too.

Key Points
Overall STI notification rates in 2024:

  • Decreased by 11% compared to 2023 (from 451 to 400 per 100,000 population)
  • Remain 31% higher than pre-pandemic year 2019 (up from 304 to 400 per 100,000 population)
  • Decrease driven by notable decreases in chlamydia (16%) and gonorrhoea (12%) notifications - follows significant increases in notifications of both STIs in 2022 and 2023
  • The downward trend continues in quarter one 2025 for both chlamydia and gonorrhoea notifications with a 10% and 7% decrease respectively when compared to quarter four 2024
  • Most commonly notified STIs in 2024 were chlamydia (n=11,534) and gonorrhoea (n=5,961)
  • HSE Home Testing accounted for 48% of chlamydia and 29% of gonorrhoea notifications in 2024
  • Young people (aged 15 to 24 years), and gay bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) remain the groups most affected by STIs 

STIs in Young People (aged 15-24 years)

  • 39% of all STIs notified in 2024 were in young people
  • Overall STIs in young people decreased by 23% in 2024 compared to 2023 (from 1,610 to 1,246 per 100,000 population)

Since 2023 in females:

  • Chlamydia notification rates in young females reduced by 21% (from 1,428 to 1,126 per 100,000 population)
  • Gonorrhoea notification rates in young females reduced by 45% (from 371 to 204 per 100,000 population

Since 2023 in males:

  • Chlamydia notification rates in young males reduced by 21% (from 775 to 611 per 100,000 population)
  • Gonorrhoea notification rates in young males reduced by 27% (from 423 to 309 per 100,000 population)

STIs in gbMSM

  • Some STIs disproportionately affect gbMSM. In 2024 (where mode of transmission was known in males), they accounted for: 100% of LGV; 100% of mpox; 93% of early infectious syphilis (EIS); and 90% of gonorrhoea
  • Gonorrhoea notification rates in gbMSM over 18 years of age, where mode of transmission was known remained high (2,111 per 100,000 population) but stable in 2024 compared to 2023

Mpox: there were 25 confirmed cases in 2024. The notification rate remains low at 0.5 per 100,000 population. An overview of the latest global mpox situation can be found at WHO Global Mpox trends. The ECDC/WHO regional office for Europe mpox surveillance bulletin provides details of the Mpox situation in Europe.

European trends
On 10th February 2025, ECDC published the 2023 surveillance reports for, chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, congenital syphilis and lymphogranuloma venereum. These reports show considerable increases in reported cases of syphilis and gonorrhoea in 2023, relative to 2022.

Public health implications and actions
Although there was a decrease of 11% in STI notifications in 2024, Ireland is not on target to achieve the World Health Organization (WHO) goals of reducing STIs and ending STI epidemics as a public health concern by 2030.

Concerted efforts are needed to continue to reduce the burden of disease. They include:

  • Supporting the development of appropriately funded and resourced integrated sexual health services that provides a range of care options, from prevention and education to testing and treatment that meet the diverse needs of the population
  • Raising awareness on how to maintain sexual health by supporting educational campaigns to inform the public about the importance of sexual health and how to maintain it. These campaigns should target various demographics, including young people, adults, and high-risk groups.
  • Supporting the inclusion of comprehensive sexual education programmes into school curriculums to ensure that young people are informed about safe practices from an early age
  • Reducing barriers and addressing any stigma that some may feel about addressing their sexual health needs
  • Ensuring widespread availability of prevention tools such as condoms, access to testing, and partner notification to limit spread of infection.

Testing options
Testing is free and available by home testing or visiting a public STI clinic:

  • National HSE free home STI testing services: The HSE free home STI testing service is available to anyone aged 17 or older. To use the service, order a test kit at www.sexualwellbeing.ie/hometesting, return your samples to the laboratory by post, and you will receive your test results by text message or phone call.
  • Public STI clinics: All STI testing and treatment in public sexual health or GUM clinics is provided free of charge. A list of public STI clinics is available at https://www.sexualwellbeing.ie/sexual-health/hse-sti-services-in-ireland.html 

Resources and supports

The HSE has a range of free supports, promoted through the Sexual Wellbeing and Man2Man campaigns, such as:

Find a Topic


Topics A - Z

Publications

News