Meet Mary
Mary Butler was born and raised in Waterford. She is married to her husband Michael and has three children.
Mary is a lifelong community activist and member of the Fianna Fáil party. She has a strong grounding in the retail sector and successfully ran the family business, a grocery shop in Portlaw, for 17 years.
In 2014 she contested local elections in her local electoral area of Comeragh and won a seat. Mary then secured a nomination in 2016 to contest the General Election. She was elected to the Dáil on the first count, receiving 10,603 votes and topping the poll.
From 2016 to July 2020, Butler was appointed Fianna Fail Spokesperson for Older People and Health Promotion, also chairing the All Party Oireachtas Group on Dementia.
Mary produced several pieces of legislation during this period in respect of older people and safeguarding.
Following her re-election to the Dáil in the 2020 General Election, she was appointed to the Special Dáil Committee with responsibly for COVID-19 response. In July 2020, Butler had the honour of being appointed Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People. Upon receiving her Seal of Office, she spoke of her delight and honour at being the first female Waterford TD to have been appointed Minister.
In 2021 Mary was elected Vice President of Fianna Fáil. During her time as Minister, Mary is very proud to have introduced legislation to modernise the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), commonly referred to as Fair Deal, a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. She has also maintained a dedicated focus on ensuring ringfenced funding for dementia supports and increased Ireland’s mental health budget by 30% since entering the post.
She remains committed to ensuring that the voice and choice of older people and those living with mental health difficulties in Ireland are heard.
