Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Other than what Deputy Crowe says, disability crosses many fields and Departments. Even within the Department of Health, I did not realise the complexities of it myself until I received this brief. Disability crosses into primary care which is under the remit of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. It crosses into CAMHS and psychology, which is under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. I do not have complete control of it all. While I will work with my ministerial colleagues and everybody else, I do not have complete control over every unit. At the same time, try to explain to a parent that it does not fall under one's remit. That does not wash so it is up to us to find the solutions.

I believe that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I want to work together to try to iron out the creases because there are many creases and areas where families come up against what I would call barriers. We need to break down those barriers and silos. I describe it as an escalator. One needs to come in the front door of primary care and then one might need to go up the escalator to a network disability team after having an assessment of needs. One might need to go up for a particular intervention and then come down for something else. It should be an inclusive space. A family does not need to know what Department this falls under. It should flow evenly so that one feels, on coming in the door, that one has access to service. Whether it is mental health, primary care or disability, inclusion is the whole idea of the rolling out of Progressing Disability Services. As I said in my speech, sometimes I might have to step on toes to get a job done but I will not apologise.