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Government publishes Draft National Risk Assessment 2017

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the risk assessment process “provides an opportunity to take a step back from the day to day concerns, to consider longer-term risks to national well-being.”

He noted the importance of having “a mature debate about these challenges and their implications for the country” and encouraged interested parties to make their views known by responding to the public consultation.
The Register published by the Government today identifies risks under the following headings: geo-political, economic, environmental, social and technological.

Since last year’s iteration of the National Risk Assessment, risks arising from external sources have intensified. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU will likely have serious political and economic consequences, and the US policy approach to tax and trade may pose challenges.

Since its inception, the process has highlighted a number of important risks – for example, in 2014 it included the earliest official acknowledgments of the risks arising from a potential Brexit. The draft list of risks has been prepared by Departments and Agencies, and through consultation via an Open Policy Debate in April 2017.
Submissions on the draft list of risks identified are being sought and can be made to nra@taoiseach.gov.ie by Tuesday 18th July. Submissions can include responses to the questions listed in the document, including in relation to the identification of further significant risks.

Read the full document here.