Fianna Fail's health spokeswoman, Ms Maire Geoghegan Quinn, has said her party is to oppose the Health Insurance Regulations because of the 100 day limit for psychiatrically ill patients.
In a statement, the Minister said: "The proposed change, represented a 45 per cent reduction in cover from the previous 180 days per year, runs contrary to every document issued by the Department of Health on psychiatric care in the past 40 years. It will result in some patients currently treated within the private psychiatric sector having to seek care from the already overstretched public service," she said.