Acceptable Risk: When Delay Has Its Own Cost
The Government's recently published Risk Statement signals an important shift in how the Irish public sector is encouraged to think about risk in the delivery of major public investment and public services. It recognises that while managing risk remains fundamental to good governance, delay itself carries significant economic, social and environmental costs. The Government has set out a framework for acceptable risk. The challenge for public sector leaders is translating that framework into confident, proportionate decision-making. Moving from acceptable risk to accepting risk is not simply a policy challenge—it is a leadership challenge. The more difficult question is whether changing policy is enough to change behaviour—or whether lasting change also depends on leadership, organisational culture, governance and confidence in decision-making. For many public servants, the challenge has never been simply one of risk appetite. It is about balancing competing risks—delivery risk, financial risk, legal risk, reputational risk and public accountability—while making timely, proportionate and evidence-based decisions.
