Dail30.ie plans to interview every TD

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