Man fined €1,000 for advertising sale of morning-after pill

A man accused of illegally advertising the sale of the morning-after pill in Hot Press magazine and on the internet has been fined €1,000 and ordered to pay €1,398 in expenses.

The case against Stephen Skillington, who lives at Clogher, Claremorris, Co Mayo, was brought by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA). It was the first of its kind in the State.

Skillington was fined €500 at Castlebar District Court on each of two charges of advertising the sale of Dutch manufactured emergency contraceptive, Norlevo. Five other charges against the accused had earlier been struck out.

The court heard the type of pill advertised was obtained online from the Netherlands, information about possible side-effects was in Dutch and the products were not intended for the Irish market.

Ten packets of Norlevo were found during a search by HPRA officers, gardaí and Customs officers during a search of Skillington’s home in December 2012, the court heard.

The drugs are to be sent to Germany and incinerated as this was the most appropriate and safe way of destroying them, the judge was told.