Mary represents the Waterford constituency. In the 32nd Dáil, she served as Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Business, Enterprise & Innovation and the All Party Oireachtas Group on Dementia.
Mary served as a Councillor having won a seat in the 2014 Local elections in the Comeragh area before contesting the 2016 General Election after securing the Fianna Fáil nomination for Waterford. She was the first female Fianna Fáil TD to be elected for the party since 2007. In the 2020 General Election, Mary was delighted to be re-elected to continue her work representing the people of Waterford city and county. She was appointed to sit on the Special Oireachtas Committee for Covid-19 response before being appointed a Minister by the Taoiseach in early July.
Mary has a strong grounding in the retail sector having worked as both an employee and an employer. She successfully ran the family business a grocery shop in Portlaw for 17 years while also continuing her career working in John Martin Jewellers in Waterford City for 10 years.
She is married to Mick, has three children and credits her great family network as a crucial support throughout her life.