Niall Collins
Niall Collins is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister of State for Skills and Further Education since July 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Limerick County constituency since 2016, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Limerick constituency and from 2007 to 2011 for the Limerick West constituency.
He served as a member of Limerick County Council for the Bruff Local electoral area, being first elected to the council at the 2004 local elections. Collins was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2007 general election for Limerick West. He was elected on the first count; he received the ninth-highest vote in the country and the highest vote of any of the newcomers to the Dáil.
His grandfather James Collins represented Limerick West in the Dáil from 1948 until 1967. His uncle Gerry Collins is a former Minister and MEP, who was a TD for Limerick West from 1967 to 1997. Another uncle, Michael J. Collins, sat for Limerick West in the Dáil from 1997 until he retired in 2007.
He has served in various Fianna Fáil Front Bench roles, he has served as Opposition Spokesperson for Justice and Equality from 2011 to 2016, Opposition Spokesperson for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation from May 2016 to March 2018 and Opposition Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Trade since March 2018.
