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

It has enabled the work that I am doing. It is about that added voice. I am not a lone ranger; I have a good strong committee behind me that is very focused on different elements. The committee is not siloed; it works under that very important broad umbrella of the UNCRPD and looks at issues through that lens at all times. That is of assistance not just to me and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, but to our officials as well.

The second thing that has been very positive is the transfer of functions from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We are now looking at everything through that equality lens. For far too long, there was a title for a Minister with responsibility for disability and a title on a caption line of disability, but where did it fit? It was all seen through health lens, whereas now it can be seen through a broader lens. That is a person's right. Sometimes I refer to our Department as the department of equality. Children, integration and disability are also mentioned in the title. That move has been a powerful one. I probably will not see the full breadth of the effect of it during my term, but I think we have laid a very solid foundation with that move. It is a big change as far as I am concerned.