Political leaders join blog generation

All of the major political party leaders have signed up to 'blog' for Rock The Vote, it was announced today.

The blogs which are available online at www.rockthevote.ie are specifically targeted at the 18-30 age bracket and aim to enlighten readers about each of the political parties and their respective leaders.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte commented in his blog: "I won’t be trying to show off my ‘youth’ credentials. They’ll be no mention of my little known love of ipods, skateboarding, or the Arctic Monkeys.

"Patronising gimmickry is not the way to convince any voter, especially young voters, that they should cast their vote for you."

Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern wrote: "I would urge young people throughout the country who have not already registered to get themselves onto the Supplementary Electoral Register."

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said: "The issue of allowing everyone the opportunity to vote at a time when they are in their own constituency is serious and will not go away for the duration of this election campaign".

Progressive Democrats leader Michael McDowell warned young people about the importance of voting.

"Don’t make the assumption that things stay the same no matter what the outcome," he wrote. "If you want a prosperous future you should vote for the parties that you believe will put the success of this country at the heart of their priorities."

Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin talked about the issue of Stamp Duty: "It seems to me that changing stamp duty at a time when the Government is almost totally reliant on property developers for house building is a recipe for disaster."

The leaders' blogs will accompany blogs from a number of young people across the country. New blogs will be online on Tuesday morning next (May 1).