The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, today said the Morning After Pill should be made available to girls as young as 11 if necessary.
The Tánaiste said the emergency contraceptive pill should be administered in necessary cases after a report from the Crisis Pregnancy Agency revealed the age for first sexual intercourse was falling.
Ms Harney said there was evidence to show that Irish girls in the 11 to 14-year-old age group were sexually active and regularly seeking the Morning After Pill.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), said Levonnelle 'the morning after pill' is not licensed in Ireland for use in children and limited clinical data is available to support its use in this age group, but doctors could prescribe the drug if they believed it was in the interests of their patients.
At the launch of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency's annual report for 2004, Ms Harney said the reality of the lifestyle of some young Irish people, including children, must be addressed.
"Girls as young as 11 are involved in sexual relationships much and all as we may find that astonishing, and it is astonishing, I think we have to deal with the reality and the consequences of that and we have to make sure that if the Morning After Pill is required that it is available to somebody in that age group," Ms Harney said.
"Clearly their parents have to be involved if they are under-age."
The annual report showed the agency provided €3.8 million to over 60 supported organisations and projects in 2004 - the funding included €1.2 million in core crisis pregnancy counselling grants.
The agency also kicked-off an advertising campaign targeted at sexually active 18 to 24-year-olds to highlight the consistent use of contraception as the most effective way to prevent an unplanned pregnancy.
The research confirmed the age of first sexual intercourse is dropping, and the vast majority of young adults are sexually active by the time they reach the age of 24.
The report showed the agency also developed more resources for parents to education their children on issues such as sexuality and relationships.
The DVD/videotape and booklet 'You Can Talk To Me' was launched to assist parents in communicating with the children, including adolescents in junior school cycle, on these issues.