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KildareStreet.com's fundraiser asks users to help bring the site 'back from the dead' before Halloween. KildareStreet.com

KildareStreet.com launches fundraising bid to build new site

The team behind the Oireachtas debate-tracking website need a new system compatible with the new Oireachtas website.

THE DEVELOPERS behind a popular independent website that allowed users to track Oireachtas debates on any matter of their choosing have launched a fundraising campaign hoping to build a new edition of the website.
KildareStreet.com, which had over 570,000 unique visitors in the year to September, was rendered redundant by changes to Oireachtas IT systems aimed at cutting back on spending in Leinster House.

The changes – which saw transcripts of all Oireachtas business moved from debates.oireachtas.ie to a separate microsite, oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie – resulted in the loss of XML functionality, which KildareStreet.com used to build its own site.

Administrators are now looking to rebuild the website so that it can ‘scrape’ data from the new website, without the need to rely on any XML feeds produced by the Oireachtas authorities themselves.

This, in turn, would mean the site could add to its own database of debates sooner after those debates happen, as the transcripts of parliamentary business are uploaded to the new Oireachtas site quicker than they had previously been.

It would also, in theory, allow the site to extend its facilities – including the possible publication of a TDs’ voting records, which are built into the Oireachtas transcripts.

The new system will require several weeks of work to build and finalise, however.

The two-week campaign, which launched this morning, had reaped donations of €559 by the time of publication.

The website was founded in 2009 and has operated thus far based on €5,800 raised from donors at that time. It does not receive government funding.

Read: Oireachtas ‘seeking resolution’ to revive KildareStreet.com debate tracker

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10 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen Fitzpatrick
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    Oct 16th 2012, 6:04 PM

    How much is needed?

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    Mute kildarestreet.com
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    Oct 16th 2012, 7:10 PM

    As much as we can raise, honestly. It has costs (the search engine sits on 2GB of disk space for a start), it chews up a couple of hours of someone’s day four times a week, we’ve got to rebuild all the data stuff at least once, and if you look at the UK version (at theyworkforyou.com) you’ll see a whole swathe of stuff about voting records and the like that we’ve never been able to add before.

    So really how much more we can do (above and beyond just repairing the damage) *and for how long* is a function of how much comes in. Sorry if that’s not precise enough; we’re happy to have any donations from this at all.

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    Mute Bernadette Dunne
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    Oct 16th 2012, 6:25 PM

    Kildare street Residents have all I can give and more

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    Mute Eileen Gabbett
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    Oct 16th 2012, 7:14 PM

    Who is the moderator for KildareStreet.com

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    Mute hjGfIgAq
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    Oct 16th 2012, 7:17 PM

    His name is John Handelaar, he’s a self-employed web developer. https://twitter.com/handelaar

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    Mute Eileen Gabbett
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    Oct 17th 2012, 12:51 AM

    Thanks Gavan .

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    Mute Seamus Ryan
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    Oct 18th 2012, 2:24 AM

    The Kildarestreet.com people made a good effort at greater parliamentary accountability (and greater parliamentary accountability is one of those things that this, er, grand little country* could do with significantly more of). They’ve been a force for some good things and deserve a bit of support. I’ve no connection with the site, never met the guys running it and only know of them from this single aspect of what they do.

    *I’m using it in a slightly sarky way but there’s still some potential here. Especially if someone can keep an electronic eye on what’s going on.

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    Mute Sean Fallon
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    Oct 19th 2012, 3:07 PM

    Would it not make sense to throw this open to crowd sourcing .. a hackathon perhaps?

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    Mute Johnny O'Laddy
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    Oct 17th 2012, 9:50 AM

    What’s with all the Kildare street / fix my street talk? You mates with him gavan?

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    Mute hjGfIgAq
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    Oct 17th 2012, 10:02 AM

    Nope.

    I think you might be mixing up one thing, though: FixYourStreet.ie (the one I mentioned in the other article yesterday) is a government website run by the Department of the Environment.

    2
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