An Irish website set up by a young Irish journalist is aiming to
make audio interviews of every TD sitting in the current Dail available
as audio files called podcasts.

Dail30.ie, set up by Dublin-based freelance journalist Adam Maguire,
has received support for TDs across the country from Cork to Donegal,
and Dublin to Mayo. So-far 42 of the 166 TDs in the 30th incarnation of
the Dail have signed up.

Currently none of the five TDs from Dublin South Central — which
includes Ballyfermot — have signed up. Although, local TD Catherine
Byrne (FG) told us “I hope to sign up to Dail 30 in the near future”,
and another three TDs from the other west-Dublin constitutes — Brian
Hayes (FG), Charlie O’Connor (FF), and Leo Varadkar (FG) have so
already.

Maguire says that the idea for Dail30.ie came around the time of the
last general election. “For many people, pre-election canvassing is the
only time they interact with their local TDs and candidates and it
means they don’t really get to know what is and isn’t being done; nor
do they really get a feel for the people who represent them. I figured
the freedom of the internet gave me the opportunity to do something to
counter that in some small way”.

The project is getting support from across the board with little
differences between each party. The main problem has been a complete
lack of response from many TDs, although nobody has said no yet. He is
hoping the rap up by the end of 2008, but adds “realistically it may
trail into 2009″.

Asked if he is confident that every TD will come on board, he replies:
“If anybody is going to say no I expect it to be a Government minister
– although I have had support from one or two of them already so far.
Naturally someone like Bertie Ahern or Brian Cowen would get plenty of
requests like this but hopefully we’ll be able to arrange something”.

- Cian Ginty