Ireland asks for your help on St Patrick’s Day

It’s hard to take this one seriously, but perhaps you should give it a try. The Irish president, Mary McAleese, has launched a website asking for your views and ideas that could be developed into new businesses with the aim of creating jobs and “bringing back the feel-good factor” to the struggling country. Maybe it’s worth a few minutes of business studies time to consider both the nature of Ireland’s problems and to take a strategic view of possible ways forwards. And there is €100,000 for the best ideas…..

According to the BBC a trawl through some of the ideas on the site reveals some wordy and weighty suggestions about how to get Ireland working again - but also more ambitious and left-field pitches, such as converting the country into one big amusement park. Others include practical and environmental solutions such as promoting wind turbines, while another proposes using cattle urine as an alternative energy source.

The country is among the worst-hit by the European recession and has seen its unemployment figures jump to 12.7%, their highest level since 1995. Incomes are stagnant and falling, a huge property crash looms and as members of the euro, Ireland hasn’t had the relief of a falling exchange rate to cushion the blow.

How about doing ten minutes on this?

What should be Ireland’s aims and goals? What should be the objectives any campaign tries to support over the next few years?
Where are Ireland’s problems? How can you analyse their current plight?
What practical steps might you propose for business development (perhaps try to avoid the ‘joke’ ones for now!)
What problems might you anticipate in pursuing your proposals?

If you come up with anything worthwhile, why not visit the your country, your call website.