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

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, cannot delegate the functions until the transfer is done. That is the first piece. Within the Department of Health, I have had delegated functions as Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities. To be fair to the Minister for Health, during the last 18 months for which I have been a Minister of State, he has been dealing with a pandemic so he has let me work on the disability portfolio side of things. I hear exactly what the Deputy is saying. She wants to know who this committee could ask questions of if something was to come up when the transfer is complete. I would ask the exact same question. She is right; a line is being drawn in the sand such that, after the transfer, the reporting Minister for these matters will be the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. If something happened within the last six months, 18 months or three years, the Minister to come before this committee to answer questions will be the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.