A former Fine Gael TD from Limerick, who, after loosing his Dail seat, became an actor and manager at social media giant TikTok, has stated his ambition to return to the political stage.
Tom Neville, from Rathkeale, Co Limerick, who appears alongside Hollywood legend, John Rhys Davies, in the newly released serial-killer film, The Gates, said his “desire to serve is still very strong”.
Championing the voice of people who struggle to conceive a child naturally and promoting funding fertility assistance procedures are issues that are close to his heart, following the recent birth of his twin daughters.
“Politics is still very much in me, and I believe, if I’m giving the opportunity, that I still have a lot to give”.
Neville, who juggles commuting to London where he works as a TikTok brand partnership manager, was co-opted to Limerick County Council in 2003, replacing his father Dan Neville TD.
When his father decided not to contest the General Election in 2016, Neville jnr ran in his place, regaining the seat, which he subsequently lost at the 2020 General Election.
Further opening up a national conversation about fertility assistance and financial assistance, is one of his priorities.
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attended Neville’s wedding to fellow actor, Jenny Dixon, of Fair City fame, and the celebrity couple celebrated the arrival of their “miracle” twin daughters last February.
Bella Sky and Capri Lucia were monoamniotic twins, meaning they shared the same amniotic sac in the womb – a rare occurrence representing less than 0.1 per cent of all pregnancies.
Opening up about their IVF (in vitro fertilisation) “journey”, Tom said: “Society as a whole needs to talk about it more, and while some people are more aware about the whole area of fertility challenges and the unfortunate things that happen along the way, I still don’t think it’s spoken about enough.”
A government-funded scheme is to be rolled out from September, to pay for one cycle of IVF treatment for couples who meet certain requirements.
“Whatever steps can be done to help people is a start, that’s how I feel. You would (hope) these things would progress (further) each year, with further benefits to help people.”
“IVF is financially challenging, and for people who would be less well off to get a chance to do it, is fair”.
Speaking about the arrival of the twins, he said “It’s great, it’s fantastic, I’m loving every minute of it. I feel just very blessed and very lucky to have the girls and Jen.”
“I’ve got a purpose, I’ve got people to look after and care for, and it’s the most fulfilling thing I have ever done.”
