The last thing anyone wants is an economics lesson. Instead, the Ideas Campaign wants to give you some quick facts about Ireland and how this economy works. And in this section we want to show you how that relates directly to your life and those of your families and friends.

Consider the following facts:

• Ireland has a far greater reliance on overseas income - our exports, our tourism revenues - than most of our European neighbours. In fact, 80% of the value of everything we create in Ireland is accounted for by exported goods and services
• We are a tiny blip on the world stage but we are now playing in a global market and that market is hammered by the recession
• We don’t have the luxury of a large domestic market - ours is 13 times smaller than the UK’s, which means that our businesses have to earn their keep in overseas markets
• The UK is still our biggest market but, because of the Euro/Sterling exchange rate, businesses selling to that market have had to absorb around a 30% cut in their sales. This has led to job losses in Ireland
• Every one job in a typical export-business supports around three others in the locality. Those jobs are in shops, restaurants and other businesses
• Public sector jobs, and our ability to sustain decent public services like health and education, are directly linked to how we compete internationally. Unfortunately, we’ve been sliding down the international charts because our labour, energy and other costs are high

But, in keeping with the campaign spirit, we don’t need to be negative. Ireland punches above its weight in many respects - we know about our successes in sport and also in the arts. But we also have an edge in many areas of business.

For instance, we’re an entrepreneurial race, ranking second in the world for business start-ups. No, we didn’t make that one up. That’s what the think-tank, the OECD, no less says.

Our strong multinational presence, in areas like technology and pharmaceuticals, makes us a hi-tech nation. We attract five times more overseas investment than other countries in the world (thanks again, OECD).

That brings a direct spin off for local start-up businesses, for service businesses and also for government, in providing good public services.

Our people are a huge asset. That’s a cliché, we know, but clichés are usually true. We get fan mail from tourists who visit Ireland. Irish people are running some pretty serious businesses internationally:

• Three of the world’s top aviation executives are Irish
• Irish arts and sports people have successfully spawned international businesses - Riverdance’s Moya Doherty and ex-Manchester United, Ireland and GAA star Kevin Moran are just two examples
• Until recently Irishman Niall Fitzgerald was the top executive at Unilever, one of the world’s biggest consumer companies

Niall FitzGerald’s perspective on the global economic crisis is brutally honest and acknowledges the serious failures of business, government and regulators. That’s why we’ve included it in full in this section of the site in The Big Picture

Does the Government have a plan to revive the economy? The answer is yes - but chances are you haven’t read it. So we’ve added a punter-friendly summary and the full document to download, if you want to read more. You’ll find that in the Government Plan.

Hot or not? How would the X Factor judges rate Ireland against the competition? Find out in the How We Compete section