Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 11, inclusive, together.

There is only one public consultation currently planned by my Department in 2019 and it relates to the Government's annual national risk assessment. Given that my Department is largely concerned with co-ordination across Departments, it does not generally hold a significant number of public consultations on specific policy issues. However, while no other public consultations are currently planned in 2019, it is, of course, possible that this may change during the course of the year.

It is intended to launch the public consultation planned as part of the annual national risk assessment in quarter 2 to help inform development of the annual national risk assessment report, which is generally published by July. The national risk assessment is an annual exercise which aims to ensure a broad-based and inclusive debate on the strategic risks facing the country. One of the lessons of the recent crisis is that Government did not pay enough attention to dissenting opinions. As such, the national risk assessment provides an opportunity for an open and inclusive conversation on the risks we face. This will be the sixth year the Government has produced the national risk assessment and the process has highlighted important issues since the first report was published in 2014, including one of the earliest official acknowledgments of the risks arising from a potential Brexit.

The development of the 2019 national risk assessment is at an early stage. In addition to interdepartmental and public consultation, my Department plans to hold an open policy seminar in quarter 2. All of these elements will inform the final report, which, as I mentioned, is generally published by July.

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