Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a transfer of functions from one Department to the other. I am already doing what the Deputy refers to with the reconfiguration of the transport committee, which I am chairing. I have brought in the Departments of Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Social Protection, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and Education. They are all present. A person with a disability has the right to go to work, to be educated, and to travel. I am looking at it in the round. I also chair the national disability inclusion strategy group. Every Department sits on that, along with a stakeholder group. That is where I see accountability. I am no more a hard taskmaster than the Deputy is, with what she set me today. We need to look at the suggestions and how we can make it more inclusive and fluid. Not everything should be a battle. Every Department must attend and must have an action plan. In the past, they have used the traffic light system. It is getting very narrowed down.

What is really meant when one talks about transport? To be fair to the relevant Ministers, they have provided their officials to address the transport issue. Everybody on this call, including the Deputy and I, knows that much is going on in transport that needs to be addressed, from the mobility allowance to the primary medical certificate to as simple a matter as parking bays. Local government has a role. It is not just a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, but also the local authorities. We have somebody from the county councils attending that transport meeting. I am looking at it in the round. This is just a transfer of functions. If it was not just a transfer, I would have been broader with it.