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.”

The decision not to reimburse people for a drug shown to slow the progress of genetic emphysema has been formally communicated by the HSE to the foundation representing patients affected.

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.

Giving big is back in vogue after the lean years and couples are now expecting their guests to flash the cash and dig deep when they tie the knot, writes Arlene Harris

When, last May, Drogheda woman Geraldine Kelly contacted The Tubridy Show about organising a reunion of hairdressers she’d worked with in a Dublin salon in the sixties, she did so more in hope than expectation.