As busy as Santa's elves in the run-up to Christmas - this must be what life is like for the workers in the Pfizer plant at Ringaskiddy. It is from here that the new wonder drug which has taken the world by storm is being supplied.

Men are falling over themselves to get hold of the anti-impotence drug Viagra, paying over £15 per pill. But in the small east Cork village this week locals were sanguine about the effects of the drug they all call "the Pfizer riser". Not on sale on this side of the world, it is being bought illegally by mail order on the internet.

Viagra was banned this week in Israel. In the US it is selling like hot cakes. In Italy, the first European country in which the pill has been marketed, demand is relentless. According to the latest figures, over a million prescriptions for the drug have been written in the US.

In Ringaskiddy everyone has heard of Viagra, but mentioning its name there has the same effect as anywhere else - giggles and ribald jokes.

"Ask him about it, he's used it," said a man who was painting a house in the middle of the village. The friend he pointed to vigorously denied the charge.

Further on Pat Hayes from Ringaskiddy says there has not been that much chat about the drug, except for a bit of slagging in the pubs.

Eileen O'Brien, on her way home from the shops, said that people were much more excited about the QE2 docking in Ringaskiddy today than Viagra.

"I read in the papers that they are flying but there is not many talking about it around here. I suppose the people here are all young married couples who wouldn't be bothered about it," she said.

Michael Barry, the proprietor of Siopa Bearnaheli, said Viagra would be making a difference to his life if he was a Pfizer shareholder. "You should be asking the women what they think, they are the ones suffering the side-effects."

A customer in the shop who would be identified only by his Christian name, Michael, seemed unimpressed. "It killed six last week, didn't it? Fellas would be better off having a few pints of Guinness for themselves."

It is not known how the Pfizer employees feel. The company is anxious not to appear to be courting publicity (as if it were needed), prior to the drug being licensed here.

There is an embargo on plant visits. Numerous requests to see where the anti-impotence drug is manufactured have been turned down. Nor will the company divulge how many of the plant's 300 employees are involved in the production of the drug.

Pfizer does not wish to talk about any additional security measures which may have been taken as a result of the overwhelming popularity of this little blue pill. But the fact is that anyone who might be contemplating a break-in is wasting their time.

The best they can hope for is a barrelful of sildenafil citrate. This is what is described as the active ingredient of Viagra and what the Ringaskiddy plant has been busy producing. Drums of it are exported to Pfizer finishing plants in France and the US.

Other pharmaceutical companies operating in the area include Sandoz, Novartis and Moog. Pfizers is a large plant, overlooking Cork Harbour, and has been operating in Ringaskiddy for 26 years.

These companies provide excellent job prospects but over the years there has been friction with some sections of the local community because of environmental pollution including bad odours.