Later this month complete export data for 2015 will be released and after a total vale of €215bn in 2014, the value in 2015 may have been up to €250bn with indigenous exports including tourism and transport accounting for less than €30bn. While the total export value of €158bn in 2007 is not directly comparable with more recent data because of a change in methodology, still the increase would be enough to have official spinners and their yarn merchants salivating on superlatives. However, not only should last Friday’s election washout for the governing parties lead to a questioning of the relentless public propaganda using distorted data but there is also a reality that exports are not a significant jobs engine for the Irish economy.