Áine Collins

Early life and business ventures Born in Banteer, County Cork, 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 area.

Political career One of three Fine Gael 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.

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 2019, she failed in a bid to be elected as a Cork County Councillor for the Macroom local electoral area. She was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2020 Seanad election.