Five years after losing his seat, Fine Gael's Noel Rock to bid for Dáil return

FORMER FINE GAEL TD Noel Rock has announced that he will seek the Fine Gael nomination to contest the next general election. 

In a video posted on social media, Rock confirmed that he hopes to run in Dublin North West. He was previously a TD for the constituency from 2016 to 2020.

Fine Gael said in a statement that a selection convention will be held in the “near future”. 

Rock said one of the reasons he has decided to come back to politics is because of “Simon Harris’s vision for the future”. 

He added that the Fine Gael proposal to create a Department of Infrastructure is another reason that he wants to get back into politics. 

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“My top priority is to ensure the creation of a Department of Infrastructure to focus on the big projects that Dublin desperately needs, including MetroLink and the extension of the Luas to Finglas which I advocated for throughout my time as a TD,” Rock said. 

Rock lost his Dáil seat in 2020 following a constituency redraw in Dublin North West which saw areas in Drumcondra and parts of south Glasnevin moved from the constituency. 

Back in 2017, even before the election had happened, Rock described how he lost 20% of his voters “at the stroke of a pen” following the publication of the Constituency Commission report. 

Dublin North West does not currently have a Fine Gael TD. 

After losing his seat in 2020, Rock set up his own public affairs company which lobbied Government on behalf of high-growth businesses. In 2022 he sold his firm to Red Flag Global, where he is now director of public affairs.

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