Colm has been a TD for the Cork North-Central Constituency since the 2020 General Election. He was elected to the Senate by the Industrial and Commercial Panel and served there from 2011 to 2020. Colm was also a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South Constituency from 2007 to 2009, serving on a number of committees including Foreign Affairs, Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Committee on Fisheries and Subcommittee on Human Rights. Colm was a member of Cork City Council from 1999 to 2017 and served as the Lord Mayor of Cork from 2003-2004. For many years, Colm volunteered with Cork Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC). He successfully campaigned for the abolition of illegitimacy under Irish law, which means that all children, whether born within or outside of marriage are now treated equally.

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Colm was previously a member of both the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Committee on Health. He was appointed as Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy on April 10th, 2024.

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Colm holds weekly constituency clinics where he provides advice on and assistance with a range of issues including planning, housing, medical cards, social welfare entitlements, visas and school transport.

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