Michael Collins had a low Dáil profile until his tax problems emerged, writes Stephen Collins, Political Editor.
Michael Collins, who served as a TD for 10 years from 1997 to 2007, is a member of a political family from Abbeyfeale in west Limerick whose Fianna Fáil pedigree stretches back through almost 60 years of unbroken service in Dáil Éireann.
His father, James Collins, took an active role in the War of Independence and the Civil War and was elected as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1948. He served in the Dáil until his death in 1967.
He was succeeded by his son Gerry at the subsequent byelection in the same year.
Gerry Collins quickly became a prominent figure in the party and served as a minister in various government departments for three decades. Having served as minister for foreign affairs in the early 1990s, he was elected to the European Parliament in 1994 and decided not to contest the general election of 1997.
His brother Michael Collins stepped into the breach and succeeded him as a TD for Limerick West in 1997 at the age of 56.
He had been a county councillor for the Bruff electoral area for two decades and was Fianna Fáil leader on the council and chairman of Limerick County Council.
During that period he was a well-known business figure in Limerick and owned the Railway Hotel opposite the train station in the city for a number of years.
He adopted a relatively low profile in Leinster House and did not seek political controversy during his 10 years in the Dáil.
That changed when his name appeared on a list of tax evaders published by the Revenue Commissioners in 2003. He was included on the list because his name cropped up among bogus non-resident account holders following the Dirt tax inquiry.
Mr Collins paid the Revenue more than €130,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties but was subsequently prosecuted for obtaining a tax-clearance certificate by falsely claiming to be tax compliant.
He resigned from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party after the initial disclosure that he had been named on the tax defaulters' list. Although theoretically an Independent TD, he continued to sit, act and vote as a member of Fianna Fáil.
Mr Collins announced in June 2005 that he would not be seeking re-election to the Dáil but emphasised that he would continue to work as a full-time public representative in west Limerick until the general election last May.
In the meantime his nephew Niall Collins, who was elected to Limerick County Council in 2004, was selected to run as a Fianna Fáil candidate, along with sitting TD John Cregan.
He topped the poll in Limerick West with 10,396 votes and Fianna Fáil retained its two seats in the constituency. He became the fourth member of the same extended family to hold the seat over 18 successive elections.