The Irish National Risk Assessment 2023 – Overview of Strategic Risks has been published by the Irish Government. The Risk Assessment outlines Ireland’s 25 strategic economic, geopolitical, social, environmental, and technological risks over the short, medium and long term. The strategic risks outlined in the National Risk Assessment 2023 vary in nature, ranging from unavoidable, chronic global risks, such as climate change, to acute hazards, such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
The National Risk Assessment is the basis for political and public discussion and deliberation about risks and their implications. It also informs the detailed risk management and preparedness exercises undertaken by Government Departments and Agencies.
Ireland is a member of the European Union and is subject to a different National Risk Assessment process than the United Kingdom. The National Risk Assessment is a collaborative exercise to identify and discuss the country’s significant risks. The process differs from the UK. In Ireland an interdepartmental group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and made up of members from Government Departments and relevant Agencies, drafts a proposed list of strategic risks. The list is then subject to public consultation, where members of the public, representative groups, the private sector, and the Oireachtas (upper and lower parliament) can review and. Once consultation concludes, the risks and responses undergo further consideration by Government Departments and Agencies before being published in the final version of the National Risk Assessment.
This differs from the United Kingdom National Risk Register, the external version of the National Security Risk Assessment, which is the UK government’s assessment of the UK’s most serious risks – and notably now excludes so-called ‘chronic’ risks. The National Preparedness Commission Chair Toby Harris has summarised the NPC’s views on the new NRR in this commentary in the article The National Risk Register – a Step along the Yellow Brick Road.
Whereas the UK National Risk Register 2023 is a public-facing document specifically aimed at an intended audience of risk management professionals, the Irish National Risk Assessment is targeted at more generalised audiences, utilising the same categories as the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report, but emphasising their cross-cutting and integrated nature.