Patients set to lose access to a drug the State has refused to reimburse have been granted a six-month reprieve as the manufacturer says it will continue to supply it free of charge.

“They’ve pulled the plug on us. It’s shattering news.”

Patients suffering from a rare genetic disease say they are devastated that the HSE has decided not to fund a new treatment for the condition.

Patients with severe lung disease who have been receiving a life-changing drug have pleaded for help as supply of the medication is to be cut off within weeks.

Ten years ago, John Hannon could hardly walk from his home to his car. Yesterday he travelled to Dublin to demand that a drug that transformed his life continues to be available.

Two previously unpublished reports into the ‘Grace’ foster abuse sex scandal will be published early next week, Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath confirmed yesterday.

The HSE’s drugs group has recommended that the State not reimburse the cost of the only known drug to treat the underlying cause of emphysema. The decision means 21 patients in receipt of Respreeza face no longer having access from the end of this month.

One in 25 Irish people is at risk of developing the world’s fourth most lethal medical condition due to our gene pool and chronic smoking habits.

PATIENTS going blind while waiting for treatment; women in particular being left in pain while they wait for a hip replacement; those with inherited conditions unable to get the lung or liver transplant they need.

IRELAND has established the first centre in Europe to test for a serious life-threatening hereditary disorder called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

THE pro-smoking ban health and trade union lobby, representing at least 1.1 million people in Ireland, wish to express our deepest disappointment and frustration at the decision of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) and the Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance (IHIA) to continue to oppose and obstruct this vital public health initiative.