Anne Rabbitte (born 11 October 1973) is an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

politician who has served as a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

since July 2020. She has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Galway East constituency since

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. She was a member of

Galway County Council Galway County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in County Galway, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hous ...

from 2014 for the

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average po ...

until her election to the Dáil in 2016. In May 2016, she was appointed to the

Fianna Fáil Front Bench Fianna Fáil is the largest political party in the Oireachtas. On 12 April 2011 party leader Micheál Martin appointed his second front bench, consisting of all 20 of the party's Teachtaí Dála (TDs) and one local councillor, to be spokesperson ...

, as Spokesperson for Children and Youth Affairs. In April 2019, Rabbitte criticised plans to excavate the site of the former

Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home The Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home (also known as St Mary's Mother and Baby Home or simply The Home) that operated between 1925 and 1961 in the town of Tuam, County Galway, Ireland, was a maternity home for unmarried mothers and their childr ...

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

, describing it as "a wilful waste of public money", and questioned if the intention was to dig up every

cillín A cillín (plural cilliní) are historic burial sites in Ireland, primarily used for stillborn and unbaptized infants. These burial areas were also used for the recently deceased who were not allowed in consecrated churchyards, including the men ...

(burial ground for stillborn and unbaptised infants) in Ireland. In May 2019, Rabbitte contested the

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Unti ...

in Midlands–North-West but was unsuccessful. Rabbitte was re-elected in Galway East at the general election in February 2020. Following the formation of a new government of Fianna Fáil,

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

, Rabbitte was appointed as a Minister of State on 1 July 2020. She was appointed as

Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth The Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of the Government of Ireland who performs fun ...

and

Minister of State at the Department of Health The Minister of State at the Department of Health is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Health of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Health. A Minister of State Minister of State is ...

with responsibility as

Minister of State for Disability The Minister of State for Disability is a junior ministerial post at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Health of the Government of Ireland. The Minister works together with the senior M ...

References

External links

*
Anne Rabbitte's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabbitte Anne 1970 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Fianna Fáil TDs Local councillors in County Galway Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland