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The Government is today publishing the final National Risk Assessment 2017 – Overview of Strategic Risks. This follows consultation on a draft National Risk Assessment that was published in June. This is the fourth National Risk Assessment produced by Government to ensure a broad-based and inclusive debate on the risks facing the country and to assist in ensuring appropriate prevention and mitigation measures are introduced as needed.

The National Risk Assessment gives us an opportunity to step back from our day-to-day concerns and consider the strategic risks that face the country over the medium and long term. By rigorously identifying strategic risks, we can create the right foundations to ensure that they are managed and their impacts minimised.

Changes since last year include the intensification of risks arising from external sources, including from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and a more general perception of increased geopolitical instability. The National Risk Assessment acknowledges the significance of risk arising from Brexit, and that Brexit represents an overarching theme that could have far-reaching impacts on nearly all aspects of national life, while also noting the importance of keeping sight of other strategic risks.

Brexit and possible changes to US trade and tax policy present risks to the performance of the Irish economy while ongoing internal risks include those posed by legacy issues and competitiveness pressures. Given its significance, climate change is included as a discrete risk this year, while human capital and skills needs are seen as issues of growing importance and the prominence of some technological risks has increased, including the potential for cyber-attacks or data fraud and theft to cause serious disruption.

Other significant risks identified include those arising from continued housing supply constraints, changing demographics and potentially unrealistic expectations for public expenditure.

Note to Editors:

The National Risk Assessment is conducted annually by the Department of the Taoiseach. It identifies risks under the following headings: geo-political, economic, environmental, social and technological. In this year's assessment, Brexit is recognised as an overarching risk with multiple impacts and influences across the five categories.

A draft National Risk Assessment 2017 was published for consultation in June. The submissions received are published here. While the public consultation process did not draw attention to any novel risks of strategic significance, a number of submissions put particular emphasis on risks already captured, in particular the impact of Brexit on several areas of the economy, risks to social cohesion and risks associated with any failure to invest sufficiently in infrastructure.