With words such as 'recession' and 'economic downturn' becoming more and more common in our everyday lives, Marie Madden talks to Dr Alan Barrett, Senior Research Officer with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) about the real meaning behind the jargon and his views on the unpredictable times ahead.

When the ESRI announced in their latest quarterly commentary that the country was in recession, it came as a shock to many. However, with every economist in the country now adding their two cents, it can sometimes be difficult to understand what this recession means and how Ireland went from being the land of the Celtic Tiger to a country in the centre of an economic downturn.

Although Alan Barrett had seen indications over the last year or so that the booming economy was slowing down, he admits that even he was shocked with the speed at which the country's once prosperous construction industry crumbled.

"In essence, with the quarterly reports we try to give a forecast for the year in question and the year going forward, based on certain amounts of data. The information is usually related to things such as retail sales, government revenue etc. From these figures, you could see indications of a slowdown but it came upon us at much more of a degree than we had realised. There was a huge reaction when the last report came out because of the use of the word recession. We were very surprised by this, because if you look at things in context it isn't that much of a shock.

"In 2007, the economy grew by five per cent. Most European countries would be delighted with two per cent. It was a very strong year of economic growth and the economy works in cycles, so it was always going to go this way. It is just the speed of the downturn that is unusual."

Barrett attributes this fast downturn to the economy's dependency on the building trade but says that even in the middle of a recession, things aren't so bad for the Irish public.

"This rapid downturn is in part due to the ongoing housing process. There were 90,000 built in 2006, which is completely unsustainable so it had to decline. The speed at which it ended was unexpected and this spilled into other sectors as well. There is life elsewhere though, with some other industries and services performing above expectations.

"I don't think that comparisons with the 1980s are fair or accurate. Ireland is a completely different country to what it was back then. In the 1980s, the national output per head was between 60 and 70 per cent of the European average, now that has converged. Right now we have substantially higher incomes and much less unemployment. We are starting from a much higher base."

While up until recently, many high profile figures, including the government, have tended to avoid discussing the subject of a recession, Barrett says it is essential for the public to know what to expect from the downturn.