Irish Examiner view: We all have a part to play in planning for future calamities

Draft National Risk Assessment: Overview of Strategic Risks 2020/2021 makes for chilling reading

A Government risk assessment report serves as a reminder that we need to identify and plan for future risks in a range of areas, from cyber security to climate change and future pandemics.

A disturbing Government risk assessment report reveals how vulnerable we are as a small nation to a variety of future calamities, among them cyberattacks, social unrest, and disruption to energy supplies. The draft National Risk Assessment (NRA): Overview of Strategic Risks 2020/2021 makes for chilling reading. It is revealing to note that the period since the last NRA was published, in 2019, has been particularly turbulent, with a number of major risks occurring which have had and will continue to have significant repercussions.

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If the right decisions are made at Government level, Covid-19 could prove to be a learning curve. In the first instance, it shows the need to improve public laboratory capacity to handle future pandemics. Overall, it serves as a reminder that we need to identify and plan for future risks in a range of areas, from cyber security to climate change. The NRA has done a fine job in identifying future threats. What is needed now is an overall plan to minimise those threats.

A public consultation has been launched on the draft report. We all have our part to play in this.