Áine Collins (born 9 September 1969) is an Irish former

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Cork North-West "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

constituency from 2011 to 2016.

Early life and business ventures

Born in

Banteer Banteer () is a village in north County Cork, Ireland located in the civil parish of Clonmeen in the historic barony of Duhallow. It is near the town of Mallow. Banteer is within the Cork North-West Dáil constituency. History In 1651, the B ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Collins was raised on a farm in north County Cork. She credits this as her inspiration, saying: "I grew up on a small farm where my father used to grow cabbage and sell it. I think from an early age I was part of that practice where you were involved in producing something." She bought a small-town pub and became involved in the restaurant trade. Collins is a certified accountant. In 2019, EFM Ireland appointed Collins as Business Development Director. Collins now lives in the

Millstreet Millstreet () is a town in north County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 1,722. Millstreet is within the civil parish of Drishane, and within a Poor Law Union also called Millstreet. The Millstreet Union encompasse ...

area. Collins gave birth to her first child when she was 20 years old. Her daughter, Ciara, was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to her and her father Dermot, Collins' then boyfriend. Collins worked in finance and studied at night and then became unexpectedly pregnant. Ciara was seven when her dad Dermot died aged 31. Collins credits her father for her interest in politics, who was chairperson of the local branch of Fine Gael. Her intention when she left school was to get into car sales, so she embarked on a year-long course in automobile engineering at CIT.

Political career

One of three

candidates including Michael Creed and Derry Canty, she received 17.2% of first preference votes and was elected on the sixth count without reaching the quota at the 2011 general election. She was a member of the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

. In July 2013, Collins was involved in the "Lapgate" controversy, which gained worldwide notoriety. Collins became noted as the centre of the incident, after her party colleague Tom Barry hauled her onto his lap during a late night debate on the abortion legislation. She lost her seat at the 2016 general election. In 2018, she ruled out contesting the then next general election. In 2019, she failed in a bid to be elected as a

Cork County Council Cork County Council () is the local authority of County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, as amended. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban pl ...

lor for the

Macroom Macroom (; ) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork (city), Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of war, ...

local electoral area. She was an unsuccessful candidate at the

2020 Seanad election An indirect election to the 26th Seanad took place after the 2020 Irish general election, with postal ballots due on 30 and 31 March. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as the lower house of representative ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Aine 1969 births Living people Alumni of the University of East London Fine Gael TDs Members of the 31st Dáil Politicians from County Cork 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála People from Banteer People from Millstreet