Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

If a person purchases an antibiotic, which must be prescribed by a doctor in this country, from a pharmacist in Northern Ireland and brings it over the Border, he or she is, strictly speaking, illegally importing a drug into this country. According to our laws, he or she should have gone to a doctor for a prescription. When people are sick they are desperate and will do anything to get better. Some, unfortunately, are taken in by the numerous spam messages in their e-mail, offering medicine for sale. What is the position if someone receives such mail offering to ship drugs? Are the packages stopped or do they come through undetected?

This also raises the issue of protecting people's private property and legitimate business. Some of these tablets can be posted in small containers making it difficult for a customs officer to distinguish which package to inspect. I would not envy him or her that job. How can the requirement to ensure a person's safety be balanced with that person's right to privacy when receiving goods from abroad?