My budget/married with children: A new Minister for Finance brings new expectations and for schoolteacher Mr Matt Reville (56) the hope of consistency after years of "swings and roundabouts".

Mr Reville teaches special needs children and would like to see an even approach to funding.

"The last minister seemed to be always chopping and changing when it came to funding," he says. "I'd like to see a fair increase in money and resources for special needs education, and I'd also like to see an element of certainty re-introduced so we're not left guessing from year to year.

"Minister Dempsey had talked about phasing out assistance altogether but the new fellow seems to have put a hold on that.

"I'm also concerned at what seems to be slow movement on reducing the pupil-teacher ratio below the current levels of 20:1.

"I know that these figures are a crude measure, but this administration made a firm commitment in its Programme for Government to bring these levels down, but recently they're saying that this was an aspiration rather than a commitment. I find that worrying."

Mr Reville, who teaches at St Brigid's School for Boys in Foxrock, Dublin, has three children aged from 18 to 25, two of whom are working full-time. His other main hopes are that the current tax bands will be altered to bring them in line with current levels of inflation.

"I definitely believe that tax bands should be indexed with inflation. They weren't widened at all the last time and it's low earners who are suffering from this fiscal drag."