The effect of paramilitary activity and organised crime on society in Northern Ireland

The term ‘paramilitarism’ is complex and contested in Northern Ireland. We heard how use of the term can risk romanticising the presence of gangs who engage in overt criminality and attempt to exercise coercive control over the communities they seek to prey upon. At the same time, however, terms such as organised crime gangs can fail to capture the complex historical and political context which leads to these groups remaining embedded in communities. Following evidence we heard, we decided to rename our inquiry from ‘the effect of paramilitaries on society in Northern Ireland’ to ‘the effect of paramilitary activity and organised crime on society in Northern Ireland’. We did so to make clear the criminal nature of many of the activities undertaken by paramilitary groups and to take account of evidence we had received outlining the potential social capital that can be conferred on individuals involved in criminality when they are referred to as ‘paramilitaries’.

Memorials, commemorative artefacts and flags glorifying paramilitary groups serve as a visual signifier of the coercive control that such groups attempt to have over communities and can retraumatise the victims and survivors of paramilitary violence. The PSNI does not always have sufficient political support to remove paramilitary flags. We urge the Executive, when fully restored, to support communities to address the continued presence of paramilitary murals, as per the recommendation in the 2021 Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) Report, whilst cognisant of the need to ensure any fresh obligations placed on the police and public authorities are reasonable.

The high cost of living in Northern Ireland has contributed to a ‘cruel storm’ which paramilitary groups are exploiting to target vulnerable individuals. Single mothers in precarious financial situations are being targeted by paramilitary groups engaging in illegal money lending practices. The structure of universal credit, the lack of a childcare strategy, and expense of childcare in Northern Ireland all contribute to the precarious financial situation in which some families find themselves. The Northern Ireland Office must engage in discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions as soon as possible to improve access to universal credit in Northern Ireland, as well as developing schemes to better connect people to existing credit services. The Government should also engage with a re-established Executive to share best practice towards the development of a childcare strategy for Northern Ireland.

We are concerned to hear about the gatekeeping of funding and other activity by paramilitary groups which has increasingly excluded women and the community and voluntary sector since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. This has implications for the construction of a post-conflict society in Northern Ireland. We are therefore pleased to note that the Government has included Northern Ireland in its latest action plan to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 48 The effect of paramilitary activity and organised crime on society in Northern Ireland (UNSCR) 1325, which recognises women’s perspectives, rights and role in relation to peace and security. However, the Government must set out how its commitment to co-design a strategy on ending violence against women and girls with stakeholders in NI will receive final approval if the Executive remains, or is once again, suspended.

There is a correlation between paramilitary activity, deprivation, mental health issues and trauma. We therefore support the trauma-informed and public health approach of the Tackling Paramilitarism Programme. The Government must collaborate with the Executive to introduce forthwith a system-wide and Government- wide commitment to trauma-informed practice.

To counter the risk and reality of people romanticising paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, it is crucial that public agencies and wider civic society use language rooted in safeguarding and child protection when describing the activities of these criminal gangs which include the abuse and exploitation, including sexual abuse and exploitation, of children and young people. The Government, or the Executive when it returns, must undertake an audit of the extent to which the Northern Ireland framework for safeguarding children and young people protects those abused by paramilitary or organised crime gangs. This should include an assessment of the extent to which the PSNI and other crime agencies currently utilise the powers contained in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 with respect to the exploitation of children. The Government must work with the Executive, when it is established, to develop an integrated strategy to protect children and young people from the harm perpetuated by these groups. In particular, the Government must work with the NI Department of Justice as soon as possible to agree a definition for Child Criminal Exploitation which takes account of current Home Office guidance.

Low prosecution rates for those who commit violent crime can act as a barrier to reporting the crimes of paramilitary groups and serve to perpetuate the impunity with which these groups act. An effective criminal justice system able to identify perpetrators of paramilitary violence and bring them to justice is of paramount importance. The Government must set out how it plans to support the Executive in 2024 to improve clearance rates for paramilitary-style attacks, and work with the NI Department of Justice to embed a safeguarding approach to paramilitary activity to enable its prosecution as coercion, modern slavery and child criminal exploitation.

We are concerned about the lack of use of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in NI. The NRM is a tool for public agencies to provide a strategic safeguarding response to paramilitary activity. While we acknowledge that support for modern slavery victims is devolved, we recommend that forthwith the Government share good practice with the Executive on improving awareness and use of the NRM among NI welfare agencies, social services and those in the criminal justice system.

The continued presence of paramilitary groups, 25 years on from the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, represents a festering wound on society in Northern Ireland. Given the delineation of responsibilities between the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive in tackling terrorist and paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland, the lack of an Executive impedes attempts to develop a collaborative and mutually reinforcing approach to tackling terrorism, paramilitary activity, and organised crime. The lack of an Executive, and the lack of sustainable funding arrangements for public services, also creates an uncertain environment for organisations providing vital services such as youth and educational services.

Tackling paramilitarism in Northern Ireland requires a whole of Government approach. While we are mindful that it is ultimately a matter for any newly formed Executive to decide its priorities for government, we urge the next administration in Northern Ireland to ensure that the commitment set out in New Decade, New Approach to ending the harm done by paramilitarism is a strategic priority in an agreed Programme for Government.

There is a live debate as to whether the current scope of national security, as it relates to Northern Ireland, should be revised to include threats other than those to democracy and the state, such as paramilitary activity like drug dealing, extortion and murder, to enable greater joint working between law enforcement agencies in Northern Ireland and security and intelligence services where appropriate. Some think it should be expanded; others believe that the current scope is sufficient to enable collaboration. We recommend that the Government undertake an updated analysis of paramilitary activity and organised crime in Northern Ireland when determining the scope of national security for its next national security strategy to ensure that all relevant groups and activities are caught within its ambit.

We welcome the announcement in the 2023 Budget of an additional £3 million for 2024/25 to extend the Tackling Paramilitarism Programme in Northern Ireland. The Programme is carrying out vital work to develop strategies to tackle paramilitarism systematically. Paramilitarism is a long-term problem which requires sustained funding. As part of discussions to extend the Programme, the Government must extend the multi-year funding period for Phase Three to five years rather than the three years for which each phase is currently funded. A longer period for Phase Three would provide a more sustainable base for investment in, and development of, projects to tackle paramilitary activity. Should it not be possible for Executive officials to allocate funding for the 2024–25 financial year, due to limitations on their remit, the Government must ensure that the money allocated to the Tackling Paramilitarism Programme for 2024–25 is at least maintained in real terms at its current level of £8 million from the Government and £8 million from the Executive.

The Government’s contribution to additional security funding for counter-terrorism has recently stagnated despite the continuing terrorist threat, and the justice budget in Northern Ireland has risen by just 3% compared to respective increases of 70% 50 The effect of paramilitary activity and organised crime on society in Northern Ireland and 45% for health and education over the last 12 years. We consider this level of funding to be unsustainable and propose that improved funding arrangements are put in place as soon as possible.

We are concerned at the budgetary shortfall that the PSNI is facing, not least in the context of recent security incidents evidencing starkly the ongoing threat from terrorist and paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. The financial liabilities that the Service may now incur as a result of the significant data breach in August 2023 will only serve to make this situation worse. Fewer resources for the PSNI will inevitably lead to a reduction in its ability to tackle paramilitary activity. A slowing of investigations, reduction of intelligence gathering capabilities and smaller neighbour policing presence means a less secure Northern Ireland. One of the Executive’s priorities under the New Decade, New Approach agreement was to increase police numbers to 7,500. This is the same figure recommended by the Patten Report and is, at best, a minimum requirement for contemporary policing given that Northern Ireland’s population has risen by almost 300,000. As part of its commitments under New Decade, New Approach, the Government pledged to ensure that the PSNI and others are appropriately resourced to deal with terrorism and paramilitary activity. Yet police numbers are falling and funding is inadequate. We recommend that the Government ensure that NI receives funding in 2024, and on a recurrent basis thereafter, which enables the PSNI to provide fair pay awards to officers and staff and increase, recommence officer recruitment and increase headcount to at least 7,500 officers.

We are concerned to hear claims that paramilitary organisations act as gatekeepers within some communities and masquerade as community organisations to receive public money. The Government must embed a standard code of practice and behaviour that all community-level organisations availing of Government funding have to sign up to as part of efforts to tackle the issue of gatekeeping of funds by paramilitary groups. The Government, Northern Ireland Executive (when it is established), and the Irish Government must agree as soon as possible a common approach to engagement with, and funding of, community organisations that claim to tackle paramilitarism. Any agreement on a set of principles or protocol governing engagement with individuals who are current or former members of paramilitary organisations, or their advocates, must be reflective of the need to maintain contact for a clear and legitimate policing purpose and not indirectly fetter the PSNI in exercising their statutory duty to protect life and property. Moreover, the Committee contends that any due diligence test for those in receipt of public funding must be compliant with equality legislation.

We have heard evidence both for and against the establishment of formal process of Group Transition. On the one hand, we are concerned that a Group Transition process aimed at the disbandment of paramilitary groups could inadvertently risk reinforcing the status of such groups and fail to displace the coercive control they hold over some communities. On the other hand, we have heard that a strategy to end paramilitarism that does not engage with the continued existence of paramilitary structures ignores the elephant in the room. For any process to have a chance of The effect of paramilitary activity and organised crime on society in Northern Ireland 51 success, it must hold the confidence of political parties and receive widespread public support in Northern Ireland. The Government should conduct a scoping exercise to assess public support for such a process which should include dedicated engagement with those who have suffered violence and harm from paramilitary groups.

Paramilitary groups do not resemble cohesive units, rather they are composed of sub-groups that vary in location, strength of affiliation and level of criminal activity. We have heard that some sub-groups are readying themselves for transition, whilst others show little appetite to transition away from criminality. We see some merit in the argument that a process facilitating those willing to transition away from paramilitarism would then allow for the better training of law enforcement resources on those sub-groups that remain determined to cause harm. However, the concept of sub-group transition requires fuller development before its risks and opportunities can properly be considered by the Government and the political parties in Northern Ireland.