Anne Rabbitte: A self-described 'tough old bird' unafraid to change with the times

The Minister of State for Disabilities tells the 'Irish Examiner' how she coped with the death of her husband, her cost-of-living concerns, and how she is happy to admit when she gets something wrong

Anne Rabbitte: 'I went into politics with people not underestimating what depth or strength of character I had, or what my circumstances were.' Pictures: Moya Nolan

Anne Rabbitte jokingly refers to herself as a "tough old bird", but is acutely aware that many will not know the context behind the description.

After her husband Paddy died suddenly in 2011, she stopped going to Mass. Not because of any loss of faith, but instead faced with grief, three young children to raise, and a job to hold down, something had to give.

Eleven years on and the Minister of State for Disabilities still becomes emotional when she finds herself drifting into a conversation about that time.

"When Paddy died, I made a decision that there was a part of me that had to mind me, so I actually forfeit Mass for me," she says. 

I couldn't be getting up every morning of the week doing the routine, there had to be a morning that wasn't routine. 

So, I actually said: 'Well, if I'm a good person, that's OK, the kids come first'.

"I made that decision, based on the fact that I couldn't stretch it any more...three young kids, you know?" she says of her children, who were all under the age of nine.

"There was no point in stressing the kids out, getting us on for the 11 o'clock Mass. Everybody looking perfect — I dreading every last minute of it because I was too bloody exhausted and resenting it, whereas I would prefer actually to do something good."

Anne Rabbitte: I would prefer actually to do something good.

Keeping up appearances is something that 'doesn't wash' with the Galway East TD, and yet as her children have grown into teenagers and young adults, the family's personal loss is something that she has rarely spoken about.

It's funny, on a national basis, people don't realise that I have been widowed with three kids, and I don't talk about it.

 I'm quite happy not to talk about it because my kids always say to me: 'We've nothing to do with your job', which in turn actually means 'do not talk about us'.

"I suppose I went into politics with people not underestimating what depth or strength of character I had, or what my circumstances were."

Upon entering politics, a life knows she would never had chosen if her late husband was still alive, she could have used her platform to represent other bereaved parents, but she "would have hated people to think of it as a sympathy conversation".

"Perhaps as a mother, you double down in your private life," she says. 

"And you park it — it's so hard to succeed in politics, so you're always trying to be the best of what you can be, be it a TD, a councillor, or a minister."

'People are under pressure'

But she is acutely aware of the struggles facing every part of society due to spiralling inflation.

Asked if she now worries that the current cost-of-living pressures on families will result in an increase in mental health issues and suicide, similar to what was seen after the financial crash, she says: "People are fragile.

"Certain things we lost coming out of Covid, like people are under pressure, be it young people — it's not that they've lost years, they've lost how to connect with people.

"They've lost confidence in themselves, and they bring that into college. Then you have the parents who are worried about providing in a very tight space at the moment.

"It's not just one part of society that is actually under pressure at the moment. It's right across; from the businessperson to the family, the single mom trying to put the kids out to school, or the family that has a child with additional needs or the older parent, the carers, they're all under pressure. 

"But that doesn't mean to say the Government won't respond and is not listening."

Anne Rabbitte.

She puts it that "September should be the January" because for a lot of people it heralds the start of "pressure season".

"It's the start of the expectations. It's how many Fridays to Christmas, all that adds into the psyche, and yes, it does prey on people's wellbeing."

However, she believes that unlike the last recession, when suicide rates rose by 15% in Ireland, people are now more open about talking about mental health, and education has also been key.

"The communication around mental health, being able to seek advice, being able to talk to people — and probably men are the worst at reaching out for it still."

Position on Repeal

This interview had been arranged, not to speak about grief, but another personal issue: her view on abortion.

She was among a group of Fianna Fáil TDs and senators who posed for a now-infamous 'No' campaign picture ahead of the Repeal referendum in 2018.

But opinions evolve, and she now believes that the current abortion legislation does not go far enough, pointing to the fact that couples who are told their child will not survive are still being forced to travel abroad.

Does she regret taking part in the picture?

"That's a photograph at a point in time, and has stood still since, that's where that is," she says. 

"But that doesn't mean to say that Anne Rabbitte's opinions have stood still in time."

Although she "willingly stood in that day", she says at the time she was relatively new to Leinster House and wasn't reared in a political family.

"I've made mistakes along the way, not just with that photograph, I've made mistakes," she says.

"But, at the same time, if you don't learn from it, or if you don't be open about your opinion, and let people know or update your profile as to 'actually this is where  I am at the moment', people will never know."

She now sees it as a women's health issue and says all women should have access to the best healthcare possible in this country.

She says there was no lightbulb moment, but speaking to older women in her community as well as her two teenage daughters led to a shift in outlook.

"People have amazed me," she says. 

"Women that I would meet in my own area, that would be in their 80s, would turn to me and say: 'Yes, I voted yes because I remember the marriage bar and I remember the mother and baby homes and I know what happened, and yes, I think it's right that women would have their own say' — they amazed me.

"What also amazed me is my own two daughters, one is 19 and one is under 18. My youngest regularly — now, she has a very strong opinion — would keep me in check, and perhaps that's where I have come to that position that actually it's OK to change your opinion and it's OK to let people know." 

She adds that altering your views shows that you are "in touch" and listening to people.

"I thought I was in touch with my electorate, perhaps I thought I was representing their views," she says. 

"My electorate overwhelmingly accepted repealing the Eighth, and maybe I was behind the curve. They were ahead of me."

Future plans

And so, what next for the self-proclaimed 48-year-old "tough old bird"?

In her role in the Department of Health, she has had her fair share of battles — both public and private — with officials in the HSE, but she won't be changing her approach.

December is likely to see changes among the ministerial ranks, but she "absolutely" believes that her outspoken personality may limit her progression.

"I'd love to hold on to being a minister, and one doesn't know because there are some very, very capable people in all backbenches," she says. 

"I am one step away from a backbench and I'm one step away from a senior position. So I'm in a very vulnerable position."