The Local Ireland discussion forum has opened a special discussion area for the forthcoming European Elections. The Vocal@Local chat forum (http://vocal.local.ie) allows anyone with Internet access to discuss issues directly with candidates for the European election.

There are short profiles available on each of the candidates and politicians wishing to respond to online queries can post replies about their policies on the Vocal@Local site. The Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce, Mr Treacy, welcomed the initiative.