A single woman in her 50s, Mary gave up her job five years ago to look after her elderly mother in the family home. Mary's mother, who is in her 80s, is permanently hospitalised.
Mary has been concerned about the property tax implications of inheriting her home from her mother as the modest house in south Dublin is worth about £250,000.
She was happy to see the introduction of changes to inheritance tax which mean she should avoid a capital acquisitions charge at a later date.
Mary will now benefit from a free electricity allowance and a free television licence through her eligibility for the carers' allowance.
An occasional smoker and nondrinker, Mary felt the Minister added too much duty on cigarettes. She thinks smokers have been singled out by the Minister, while the price of drink has remained unchanged in the past two Budgets.