A man whose wife is fighting an extremely rare, life-threatening disease has appealed to the public to help her secure a drug that could turn her life around.

A medicine shortage caused by excessive drug price cuts imposed by the HSE is having a negative impact on patient care, an Oireachtas committee heard yesterday.

The HSE has back-tracked on refusing an expensive drug to patients after the Taoiseach was accused of putting money ahead of patients’ lives.