Observations on the Government of Ireland’s Draft National Risk Assessment – Overview of Strategic Risks 2018

The Centre for Cross Border Studies has submitted a response to the public consultation on the Draft National Risk Assessment 2018. The National Risk Assessment (NRA) provides the Government of Ireland with an opportunity to identify and debate strategic risks facing Ireland over the short, medium and long term and is seen by Government as an important part of the overall process of risk management. Our response to the consultation highlights the need for the NRA to focus on the specific risks which Brexit posits to the future of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement (GFA) and to cross-border cooperation within and between these islands. These risks include: erosion of the protections for citizens’ and human rights embedded in the Agreement; undermining the equivalence of a rights regime north and south of the border; the risks to social cohesion and peace posed by a divergence of rights between British, Irish and other EU citizens in both the UK and in Ireland as a result of Brexit; and the recently passed changes to Lords’ Amendment 25 to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill which undermine the capacity of the Bill to protect the British-Irish Agreement (as a part of the GFA) against any breaches arising from Brexit, to prevent the diminution of ‘any form of North-South cooperation’, and to safeguard against the creation of additional border checks and infrastructure.

To see CCBS’s full response to the NRA 2018 click here.