JAMES COLLINS – LIVE IN A CITY THAT WORKS FOR YOU

The taste for politics started in , and school for all the family. was developed in Dublin, and now is delivering where we chose to be.” real results in his native city. It’s 17 years James grew up in Dooradoyle opposite St since newly married James and Eileen Paul’s school. His family was in the Collins left Dublin and returned to their hospitality trade – his father Michael native Limerick in search of a better life. owned the Railway Hotel, before he “We wanted to live in a became a TD for city where we enjoyed Limerick in 1997. life, where we could James’ uncle is work and have access Gerry Collins, a to good schools when former Minister for we had children of our Foreign Affairs and own. Life to us was MEP. James’ about more than having cousin is Niall decent jobs. We both Collins, the Fianna worked in IT and were Fail TD for west in our early twenties Limerick, and working hard and Fianna Fail enjoying life. I was spokesperson on travelling to London foreign affairs and and spending a lot of trade. Politics is in time in the United his blood. States. Life was Eileen shared exciting and our career James’ background prospects were good, in pubs and politics. but more than anything Originally from we both wanted a life Ballyclough, for all the family. Eileen’s family, the “Dublin at the time was O’Deas, were a very difficult city to licensed vintners live in and to get too; running John around: public transport A proud day for the family: with my wife, Joe O’Dea’s pub wasn’t good; rents were Eileen, and our four children, Eoghan, on Mulgrave Street high; buying a house 16, Thomas, 14, Daniel, 11, and beside Limerick was expensive. A lot Beibhinn 8. Prison. Eileen’s like now. mothers family, the Crawfords of were always “But more than anything, we felt we were steeped in Limerick Fianna Fail and today, just living to work. We both wanted to build Eileen’s brother, Councillor Jerry O’Dea, a family life outside of work, to live some runs the pub. Her Dad, John Joe, is FG. It place where there was more balance, is probably too late to change him now. good schools, and plenty to do after work Seventeen years after the move from the UK, Europe and the US. I was based in Dublin, the couple has no regrets. When Dublin head office, but would have James and Eileen walk around travelled regularly with them. I got to spend Park in the evenings or weekends with some time in Accenture’s Global Treasury their four children, Eoghan, 16, Thomas, Department at their head office in Chicago 14, Daniel, 11, and Beibhinn 8, these are as part of a project team. I was going into the family moments they dreamed of when well-established businesses that were leaving life in the capital. undergoing transformational change. I was Eileen was studying computer science at part of a team of consultants that would Maynooth, while James was doing a help bring about that change. I learned Masters in Business in UCD, specialising quickly from that about having a vision for in management information systems, an something, seeing the obstacles that are early version of Business and Information there, and planning a strategy for how you Technology. James had gone to school at overcome those obstacles to bring about St Paul’s and St the original Munchins, where vision you he played centre have. on the same Understand team as his the schoolmate and problem, contemporary, achieve the the late Anthony solution. It Foley. After St sounds Munchins, abstract, James went to but actually UL, and played that is for Munster exactly Under 20s, what we did before to bring graduating in about the 1995 with a civic and degree in educational economics and James outside one of the three new schools planned campus at financial for Mungret. The area is being master planned for Mungret services. several hundred new houses. It is an example of how College.” “I was doing my things should be done: put the services, roads, sports When masters in 1995 and community facilities in first. Then the houses. James and studying Eileen ecommerce and married in creating websites 2000 and at a time when people were getting used to returned late that year to live in Limerick, the internet. Eileen was doing computer politics was part of both their family lives, science in Maynooth, but they didn’t have but it was not in either of their immediate enough computers in the class to do her plans. projects, so she used to come out to UCD “Obviously we had a lot in common, not and use our computers, so much so some just that we were both from Limerick of my classmates thought she was actually families involved in the pub trade. But the on the course. thing we had most in common was a belief “After I finished my masters, I worked with that there has to be more to life than just Accenture for four or five years. I travelled working and commuting. We wanted to get around, working as a management married and move back to Limerick, where consultant going into businesses in Dublin, we could raise a family, have good schools around us, and plenty to do in the you don’t know how to do something, find evenings. Anybody who lived in Dublin in somebody who does. the early to mid-90s will remember: it was “Obviously like most people we had very so hard to get around, there was a DART, difficult years beginning around 2007, but no Luas, a limited bus service and 2008 and 2009. We were right on the queues for taxis at night.” doorstep of Dell. When Dell moved They moved back to Limerick and began manufacturing operations, 2,000 jobs the process of designing and building their moved almost overnight. By 2010 at the

own pub on the “My parents ran the Railway Bar next to the height of the crash, site in Dooradoyle. People’s Park. Some of my fondest we had four “We designed the childhood memories were getting ice creams children under the bar, got on site in from this kiosk in the park, which is sadly no age of eight. When March 2004, and longer open.” we opened first, we opened 16 Dell was busy, December 2004. It Limerick was busy. was supposed to be We were busy. a 12-month build and we did it in nine “What I found here with my customers was months. We had to borrow massively. We they might be working in Dell and married still have a big commercial mortgage here, to someone working in Dell, so both of and we employ about 30 people, so them had lost their jobs. I knew some of overheads are high and you’ve got to keep our customers who were on their second busy to meet your repayments. Our style is home – because they’d traded up on their to hire good people, train them and first home or apartment and then rented empower them. Give your team that out to two people in Dell. So I had responsibility and watch them go. If your customers here who were in double good enough, you’re old enough. When negative equity and unemployed. It was one of the main reasons I got involved in of jobs. politics in 2009. Limerick needed jobs. Lots “I had helped out in previous campaigns, particularly, and in housing – making sure canvassing, postering and helping out with everyone has access to the housing constituency clinics but I wasn’t hugely market, including social and affordable active personally in politics until 2009. housing. But we are a long way down the Things were tough here and I used my road from a city that was trapped in the training to re-organise the business and boom-bust cycle, over-reliant on one put a strategy in place. But the community industry – whether that was Dell or Krupps was in a bad place, my business was in – to provide the main employment. “Now we have multiple industries and employment sources – Northern Trust, Regeneron, Analog, General Motors, Stryker and Dell, which is still here. I was very outspoken on the need for different types of industries so that all your eggs aren’t in the one basket and as a director of Innovate Limerick I played a significant role in the purchase and development of Troy Studios, something which brings a different the middle of a neighbourhood that needed type of employment to help to change, and Limerick City needed the city but also adds to our reputation as to change if we were all going to get back a liveable, creative city. to a strong position and survive this “We are now planning our city in a downturn. That was when I really felt coordinated way, so that Limerick life is politics could help people’s lives, so long about living and working. When we moved as it was about having a strategy to back here, we wanted a life where our achieve a long-term vision, not just doing children would grow up with opportunities knee-jerk things for votes. Thankfully we after school. We wanted them to be able to are now in a much different place. It took go to university here if they wanted to, and time for the city and the people to feel we wanted to have job opportunities for confident again. Recent job them after university. But we also wanted a announcements didn’t happen by accident. full life for ourselves as a family, and a full It took a while to recover and we still have life means enjoying your work, and a way to go yet. enjoying your time together after work and “There’s a renewed pride in Limerick now. school. Limerick has so much more to offer We have developed a reputation as a now than it did back then. And there is clean city, a location for high-end jobs in more to come” finance and technology, a city with good The park, playground and three schools at schools and third level institutions, a city Mungret College typify the transition, and that loves its sport and the arts. There’s a James Collins was instrumental both in lot still to be done – on transport coming up with the idea for the park, and the strategy required to bring that vision accommodation and busy planning a new about. building. We could also see through the “There were always lots of houses in demographics that there was pressure Dooradoyle and Raheen. But the problem coming on the primary schools. Educate was we tended to build the houses and Together was in temporary worry about the amenities afterwards. accommodation in Mungret College, We’d build big estates, with one road in Gaelscoil Raheen was in temporary and out, and create these cul-de-sacs accommodation down in Garryowen FC. instead of communities. We delivered new buildings for those.” “There wasn’t enough secondary school The previous owner of Mungret College places. The local secondary school was a ran into negative equity, the bank comprehensive, but foreclosed and it it didn’t have a ended up in Nama. catchment area; it The council had took pupils from pre-approved a everywhere. Some loan to the local kids ended up council’s director of going to finance and and Mungret College Croom. Fine was bought with schools but a long funds from that bus ride away. I loan. believe you should “We looked at be able to walk to getting a park and school and sit with a playground, your neighbours. because it was one You can play a “Being Mayor Limerick is a tremendous of the things that match together honour. We have a beautiful, storied, historic people with young after school, or call city. It has a unique creative edginess to it.” kids didn’t have. around to one We coerced another’s houses Crescent Shopping to complete a Centre to put a school project or whatever, rather than me playground on their lands as a short-term being in Dooradoyle, and you being in measure but the idea was always to build another village miles away. It’s actually the a proper playground and park in Mungret. kids that tie you into the community – as “While we were planning and designing it, parents, you get to meet other people in some people asked us to make it disability your community through the activities your friendly. We got quite involved in the kids are involved in.” design of it – even down to equipment James is a coach for his son’s rugby team, selection or questions like should we tar and he has also helped out coaching at the paths or stone-chip it, and we said tar local schools also. His two older children it, so that children could cycle a bike attend Ardscoil Ris, while the two younger around it. There was protected views, we children attend The Model School, near wanted to keep the park to the front of the the family home on O’Connell Avenue. college. Myself, Tomas Hannon (Labour) “I like to get involved where I can, and the late Richie Butler (Fine Gael) said especially in the schools. I could see from rather than arguing over individual issues, 2009 that there was a demand in the let’s come together and work with the Mungret area for a community college urban renewal scheme in Mungret. We similar to the policy they had in . could see that there was an existing I am a board member of Mungret population but it was going to get bigger Community College, currently in temporary and Mungret was a place people liked to , the North Circular Road, walk and cycle to. Garryowen, Weston, Prospect, Corbally, “This growing population needed to have Castletroy, and out to parts of some place to go after work. So the first Tipperary, all of which are going to be in thing we did was to improve the public the new constituency at the next general realm in the village of Mungret. We slowed election. traffic down by putting in speed ramps, and “I’ve seen what can be achieved through made it look a little nicer. We built it back politics in local government. You need to back towards the GAA club – which have a vision and a strategy for bringing doubled in size on lands given over by the about the change necessary to achieve council at cost to the club – and then back that vision. That might sound abstract, but towards Mungret Park itself. Dooneen the proof is in the pudding. I’m very proud Athletics club was sold enough space for a of the role I played in helping to bring running track, at a substantial discount. about Mungret Park and Troy Studios and Some officials wanted to move the park to of my role as a director of Innovate behind Fr. Russell Road and behind the Limerick. We recently opened ENGINE, a railway track but we felt Mungret was digital media hub to train Limerick people where it should go. It’s been a runaway success. “We have a lot still that we want to do. We are repairing the roof on the college. There’s the Men’s Shed group, local scouting, basketball, cricket clubs and community groups that want to get involved there. We are still working to get a community to work in film and technology. My focus centre there and I’ve come up with some now is very much on Limerick 2030, The innovative proposals for how we might Gardens International, Opera Centre, fund that. We are busy master planning for Cleeves, housing, transport, health, upto 2,000 houses to be built nearby also. pedestrianisation, festivals and events, “My family were politicians before me but tourism and more. We have taken an they can’t elect you. It’s the public that innovative approach – not least being the elect you. You have to put your best foot first local authority in and one of forward, put your face on the poster, and the first in Europe to secure low-interest let the public decide whether they are loans from the European Investment Bank going to vote for you or not. People will to help rebuild our city through major know the Collins name, particularly in west strategic developments. I’m working on Limerick, but Collins family members other major projects for Limerick which are weren’t elected before to represent the slowly coming to fruition after years of people of Limerick City in areas such as behind the scenes work. I’ve also been to South Circular Road, the Ennis Road, the forefront of the fight to stop Irish Cement from burning tyres and more than 100 types of hazardous waste at its Mungret plant. Limerick wants to move forward not be dragged backwards. “The aim always has been, and always will be, to contribute with others towards building a city that works for you; a city where you can raise a family, work and live; a city that’s attractive not just to foreign and indigenous employers but attractive to tourists and visitors who’ll come to sample our way of life, and once 12,000 jobs created since 2014. they do, we know from experience that This is a city to live, work and play. they’ll come back, except this time, they’ll We have a beautiful riverside city, a clean bring more people with them. Limerick is environment, and an economy attracting edgy and I like that edginess. It’s what we jobs in Fintech, Pharma, and across the are. I want to see what we can become. digital spectrum. The challenges are Limerick is a way of life, and a way of obvious: the most overcrowded hospital in living. I want to keep adding to the great the country, a housing crisis, and depleted things we already have going for us as a Garda numbers. But the future is bright for city and do that on a national level by a liveable Limerick. Together let’s build a representing Limerick City constituency in Limerick that works for all of us. Dail Eireann.”