The study carried out in Limerick, is reported to have shown further evidence of a link between underage sex and cervical cancer.

The study also revealed that of these, 62% first had sex before they were 14 years old.

High-grade lesions, classified as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN3), are abnormal tissue, which, if left untreated, can progress to invasive cancer.

Of the under-25s with these lesions, 43% had human papilloma virus (HPV), also called genital warts, which has long been associated with cervical cancer, and 13% had chlamydia, another possible cause of the disease. These women had an average of 5.5 sexual partners in their lives.

In 2006 there were 9,892 sexually transmitted infections (STIs) notified in Ireland, which was almost treble the rate in 1995.

The highest number of cases was among those aged 20-29 years, who accounted for 65% of all STI notifications.

The number of cases of chlamydia rose from 245 in 1995 to 3,144 in 2006, while genital warts have gone from 1,972 to 3,494 cases a year.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre said the data “suggests considerable risk-taking behaviour in the form of unprotected intercourse”.

The Limerick study analysed 2,637 smear test results, 221 of which were referred for colposcopy, a medical procedure to examine the cervix, which can involve a biopsy.

The incidence of cervical cancer in Ireland rose by 36% between 1994 and 2000 and is increasing at a rate of 1.5% annually. Every year 77 women die in Ireland from the disease.

A national cervical cancer-screening programme has been promised, while a pilot scheme has been running in Limerick since 2000 and is due to be launched nationally later this year.

The service will be free to all women in Ireland aged between 25 and 60.

Screening will be provided every three years for women aged between 25 and 44 and every five years for women aged between 45 and 60.

Quest Diagnostics, an American laboratory, has been awarded a two-year contract to analyse 300,000 smears as part of the free screening.

A report from the Health Information and Quality Authority recently recommended that a vaccine to guard against the most common strains of HPV be given to all 12-year-old girls before they become sexually active.

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