Draft National Risk Assessment 2021/2022 - Public Consultation

Please note that final National Risk Assessment 2021/2022 has now been published and is available here. A summary of the feedback received through the public consultation is provided at Annex 1 in the report and a copy of the submissions received can be found below.

The Draft National Risk Assessment 2021/2022 - Overview of Strategic Risks, along with details on the public consultation process, is below.

What is the National Risk Assessment

The National Risk Assessment is a collaborative exercise to identify and discuss significant risks facing the country and feeds into more detailed risk management processes by individual departments and agencies. There are several stages of consultation and discussion to ensure the process is comprehensive and inclusive of all viewpoints.

The draft list of risks was published in July 2021 for public consultation. Links to previous reports can be found here.

Risks the draft National Risk Assessment 2021/2022 identified

The NRA was last published in 2019, and since that time the environment has changed dramatically with a number of major risks, most notably the pandemic, coming to pass. Brexit and the cyber-attack on Ireland’s health services are two other major risks that have materialised.

The draft for 2021/2022 includes some new risks including digital exclusion, and economic scarring as well as others that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic such as housing supply and energy security. These are in addition to a number of issues that remain significant risks for the country including climate change, biodiversity loss, and demographic pressures.

The experience of the past number of years has heightened the focus on risk management and structures nationally and internationally. The draft report notes some emerging international views on lessons for risk governance, as well as an emphasis at EU level on boosting resilience. There will be scope in the months ahead, as COVID-19 recedes, for further consideration of lessons for risk management.

About the public consultation

The consultation process on the draft Report ran from Friday, 23 July to Wednesday, 8 September. Stakeholders and members of the public were invited to provide views on the draft list of risks through an online survey and/or by providing an additional submission.

Please note that while information from submissions received is posted on www.gov.ie after the public consultation is completed, private individuals' information will not be shared. However, submissions will be subject to Freedom of Information and therefore may be disclosed to third parties.

The Report is finalised after all of the survey results and submissions received during the public consultation have been analysed and, where appropriate, incorporated into the Report.

To view the consultation click the button below.