In the week that President Obama encouraged his cabinet team to tweet, new rules to allow Oireachtas members to tweet from the Dail and Seanad chambers are a welcome sign that Leinster House is catching up with the White House. Senator Paschal Donohoe, an avid user of Facebook and Twitter, has welcomed these new rules.
“This is a welcome sign that the Oireachtas is catching up the 21st century. People want to know what goes on in Leinster House. Tweeting, Facebook and blogging provide a new way of communicating to the electorate, particularly young voters. This change will allow Oireachtas members to update those interested in their work and contributions in Leinster House. I hope that this will encourage members from both Houses of the Oireachtas and all parties to embrace these technologies. They work for the White House. Maybe they can work for Leinster House too.”