Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue. I refer back to the issue of counterfeit drugs and medicines. There is not adequate public consciousness yet of the dangers of buying prescription drugs through websites when one does not know what one is being sold and what is its composition. If it is not a placebo, the product could comprise substances other than what one believes them it to contain, which places one's health or life at risk.

This highlights the benefit of being part of the European Union and co-operation in the justice area. Operation Pangea V had extraordinary results. It was a dedicated, focused operation across the EU over a one-week period, which led to the seizure of 120,000 counterfeit tablets and capsules in Ireland that might otherwise have been consumed by people in this State who believed they were required for their health. They related to weight loss, mood and erectile dysfunction issues. People would have taken these drugs without knowing their content or the consequences of taking them or knowing that they were counterfeit.

Because it was a European wide focused operation, in that week, 18,000 websites selling these pharmaceutical products were closed.

See this speech in context