According to the invoice I’ve just paid, Dáil30.ie is now one year old.

It’s a little embarrassing, to be honest, to have this site sitting here for the last year with no interviews making their way online. That said, plenty has been done and the pieces are continuing to fall into place.

Let’s hope that things will be finished, or nearly finished by the time this project hits its next birthday.

Things have been moving quite well behind the scenes here at Dáil30.ie and the number of TDs agreeing to take part has increased - although there’s still plenty of work left to do.

Below the fold you’ll see the list of TDs that have signed on to date, 42 in total so far, although there’s yet to be a single constituency that has seen all 3-5 TDs get on board.

For those of you interested, the party participation statistics break down something like this. So far 20% of all Fianna Fáil TDs have agreed to take part. Fine Gael is doing a little better with 27% of its TDs signing up so far while The Green Party, who has a few bloggers in its ranks, sits at a healthy 33%. Head of the pack, however, is Labour at 35% - another party that’s big into blogging. A quarter of all Sinn Féin TDs are up for taking part so far while 40% of the remaining Independents in Dáil Éireann have too. Neither of the two Progressive Democrat TDs have signed up so far.

If one of your local TDs isn’t on the list, drop them a line or email and ask them about it!

Other things you can help out on:

Recording equipment:
I’m currently resourcing some recording equipment and am looking at a number of different high quality portable devices. If you have any suggestions, tips or even special offers, leave me a comment or drop me an email. The same applies for microphones, which I’m also in the market for.

Theme:
I’ll be looking to find a suitable theme for the series in the next few weeks - something podcast-safe, naturally. If you’ve found or composed/created anything that you think might fit the bill let me know.

Broadcast:
This project is podcast-centric but it’s being specifically crafted to be “radio-friend” in terms of length and quality. With that in mind there is a lot of scope for getting this on local and regional airwaves over the next while and while stations would unlikely be interested in broadcasting the entire series they could even be given their relevant episodes (so a Cork station would get all the Cork constituency broadcasts).
This idea is still in the early stages so details would have to be ironed out if anyone was interested - that said I wouldn’t be looking to sell the content but rather “donate” it to various stations, assuming the terms were agreeable for both partners.
If you’re involved with a radio station or think one near you might be interested in Dáil30, let me know.

Now - click the ‘more’ link to see what TDs are on board so far:

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Things have been quiet here for far too long, but work continues in the background.

The aim to have the show on the road by late this month is looking a little unrealistic at this stage but progress is certainly being made and things should kick off sooner rather than later. For example, we’ve been in touch with Labour’s new leader Eamon Gilmore who has pledged to take part and promised to encourage his party colleagues to do like-wise. We’ve also been in touch with the Green Party’s new leader John Gormley and have had some correspondence on he and his party’s co-operation with the project; we hope to hear something more from them soon.

So as things continue to progress we’ll finally be moving into a more interactive arena. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking for readers’ help in deciding the music for the podcast, their help in defining types of questions that might be asked to specific TDs and - perhaps most pressingly - their help in getting the last few stragglers on board.

So keep watching, subscribe to the feed and get in touch if you have anything you want to add.

Welcome to the newly re-designed Dáil30 site - as you can see the place has gotten a complete overhaul.

The biggest new feature is the map on the right-hand side which will be used to house all the interviews as they become available. Only Carlow-Kilkenny has TD information in it at the moment (along with some “demo” audio to show you how it will be laid out) but the rest will be coming on stream very soon.

Many thanks to Kevin and everyone else at Alpha IT Solutions who put the site together from scratch and made it super-accessible and completely fit-for-purpose.

Keep an eye on the site or subscribe via RSS or Email - a lot will be happening in the weeks ahead. We’ll be looking for plenty of reader input on a number of matters as we move towards the launch of the series in October.

Thanks again to Kevin and Co. and enjoy the site - let us know what you think in the comments below.

Page 18 of today’s Tipperary Voice carries a piece on Dáil30 by Colin Bartley.

The article features quotes from the two Tipperary TDs who have signed up to Dáil30 already, Mattie McGrath (FF) and Tom Hayes (FG), as well as some comments from myself.

A link to a scan of the article is available below the fold - hopefully the project can get the attention of local press around the country over the coming months which will help raise awareness amongst constituents and their representatives.
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Colm Doyle over at Colm Is Ainm Dom has decided to contact the TDs in his area who have not yet signed up to Dáil30 and asked them to do so.

So far he’s gotten two standard “we’ll get back to you” responses, but his efforts are much appreciated here and will undoubtedly help Dáil30 in a big way.

Every time a TD is contacted about Dáil30 by a constituent of theirs they are reminded of the project and shown that the people that matter (as in their potential voters) are watching to see if they take part.

Many thanks to Colm and in honour of his efforts I’m asking you to do likewise.

If you have the time please contact the TDs in your area who have not yet signed up to Dáil30. Check out the latest list to see who in your area has already given us the thumbs up and if you have the time, contact the ones who have not. To save you a little bit of hassle, you can copy and paste the text below the fold in your email - just enter the relevent details to suit the person you’re mailing.

Remember - so far no constituency has had every TD sign up yet, so at least one of your representatives hasn’t responded to us at present!

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The Dáil30 project has picked up a bit of speed in the last few weeks, however the Dáil’s summer recess has meant things are now beginning to slow down again. On the plus side, this quiet time should allow for some of the other pieces to fall into place before the series proper begins.
TDs:
We now have 24 TDs on board (that’s 7 on top of the 17 reported last time), including two Ministers, two Ministers of State and numerous prominent opposition and Government TDs. Names of those who have so far agreed to take part are listed below the fold.

Site:
Having agreed to take the project on board, Alpha IT Solutions are doing a superb job of getting the site ready for the series start. I’ve seen a few screenshots of what the finished article will look like and I’m delighted with how it’s going so far.
Timing:
With the Dáil returning on the 26th of September it’s now likely that the series will not start until late October. This is giving time for the TDs to return, for me to arrange and conduct the interviews and then begin production on the constituency package. I’m hoping to have a head-start on the series itself too, so ideally I’d have the first few constituencies ready to go before Carlow-Kilkenny is broadcast.

If you want to get in touch, details are available on the Contact page.

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It’s one week since first contact was made with the Dáil’s 166 TDs, so it’s as good a time as any to update you on the project’s status.

TDs:
So far we’ve had 17 TDs respond with a solid ‘yes’ to taking part, and a further 8 TDs that are at ‘tentative’ status. Names of those who have so far agreed to take part are listed below the fold and fingers crossed it will continue to grow in the coming weeks.

Site:
Work on the new website is underway, with Alpha IT solutions agreeing to take on the challenge. Many thanks to Kevin and co. for their work so far - so far they’ve been extremely helpful, constructive and efficient - I’ve no doubt the site will look superb once it’s finished.

Timing:
No decision has been made yet on when the series will actually commence, but it is somewhat hindered by the upcoming Dáil recess.
In order to broadcast the final episode on the 1st anniversary of the sitting of the 30th Dáil, we’d need to air episode 1 (Carlow-Kilkenny) by late August (assuming an episode was broadcast every week after that).
We’ve had two of the five TDs for that constituency sign up already, but getting those interviews together (as well as a number of constituencies after that) will be extremely difficult when the TDs are on holidays or working exclusively in their respective constituencies.
More on this in the coming days/weeks.
Acquiring the best possible recording equipment is another issue, but it’s not one that should slow progress down in any major way.
So expect this site to get a lot busier in the near future as things get moving finally.

If you want to get in touch, details are available on the Contact page.

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I’ve just finished sending off 166 emails to all the TDs of the 30th Dáil.

If you’re coming here on the back of one of those emails, enjoy your visit to the (under construction) site and get in touch with me if you have any questions in relation to the project.

Otherwise, I look forward to hearing from you in the near future!

For new bands nowadays, having a Myspace page is almost as essential as having instruments to play on. For certain groups of friends, not having a Bebo page is akin to relying on carrier pigeon or telegraph for communications amongst peers.

Social media sites have not become an important part of the day-to-day for some, they have become the foundation of it. Likewise, for many organisations they have become central to a strong business model and success.
While Dáil30 is neither a business nor a social scene, I’d like to see if it too can benefit from the greater connectivity these types of sites offer, so I’m looking for ideas on tools and sites the project can get involved in.
I’ve already joined LinkedIn myself, with one of my roles being owner of this site, but what else is there that could help this site achieve its goals?
Ideally I’d like to get a discussion going on this to see what the site can use to make it as noticeable and accessible as possible - it’s all done with the aim of pushing this project out there to the mainstream media, the politicians and most importantly, the audience.

Thanks