Select Committee · Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

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

Status: Closed Opened: 30 Mar 2022 Closed: 28 May 2024 14 recommendations 3 conclusions 1 report

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is conducting an inquiry into the effect of paramilitary activity and organised crime on society in Northern Ireland. The inquiry is looking at the effectiveness of current measures aimed at tackling paramilitarism in Northern Ireland and considering how the UK Government, Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government can most effectively …

Reports

1 report

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Second Report - The effect of paramilitary activity and org…	HC 43	1 Feb 2024	17	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

5 items

2 Recommendation Second Report - The effect of paramilit… Deferred

Urge Executive to support communities addressing paramilitary murals and flags

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 …

Government response. The government response completely deflects from the recommendation concerning paramilitary murals, instead discussing engagement between DWP and DfC on social security, credit services, and the development of a childcare strategy for Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Office

12 Recommendation Second Report - The effect of paramilit… Deferred

Extend multi-year funding period for Tackling Paramilitarism Programme Phase Three to five years.

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 …

Government response. The government does not commit to extending the multi-year funding for the Tackling Paramilitarism Programme to five years or maintaining specific funding levels. It instead states that Additional Security Funding is for PSNI counter-terrorism work and that day-to-day policing and …

Northern Ireland Office

13 Recommendation Second Report - The effect of paramilit… Deferred

Establish improved funding arrangements for Northern Ireland's counter-terrorism and justice budgets.

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 …

Government response. The government states that policing and police funding are devolved matters for the NI Executive to determine, while confirming its existing Additional Security Funding of £32m per year until 2024/25, which is not for day-to-day policing.

Northern Ireland Office

14 Recommendation Second Report - The effect of paramilit… Deferred

Increase PSNI officer headcount to at least 7,500 through recurrent funding provision.

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 …

Government response. The government states that increasing PSNI officers to 7,500 is an NI Executive priority, and policing in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Executive and Department of Justice to resource.

Northern Ireland Office

17 Conclusion Second Report - The effect of paramilit… Deferred

Paramilitary groups are fragmented; sub-group transition concept requires further development and consideration.

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 …

Government response. The government acknowledges recommendations for a formal process to facilitate paramilitary group transition and commits to undertaking further independent scoping and engagement to assess its merit and support.

Northern Ireland Office

Oral evidence sessions

11 sessions

Date	Witnesses
18 Oct 2023	Dr Aaron Edwards · The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Dr Seán Brennan, Independent Researcher	View ↗
17 Oct 2023	Jamie Bryson · Centre for the Union	View ↗
26 Apr 2023	John McBurney · Independent Reporting Commission, Mitchell Reiss · Independent Reporting Commission, Monica McWilliams · Independent Reporting Commission, Tim O'Connor · Independent Reporting Commission	View ↗
8 Mar 2023	Chris Heaton-Harris MP · Northern Ireland Office, Dominic Wilson · Northern Ireland Office, James Crawford · Northern Ireland Office	View ↗
22 Feb 2023	Alison Flanagan · Christians Against Poverty (CAP), Brian Anderson · East Belfast Mission, Ronnie Armour · Northern Ireland Prison Service, Steven McCourt · Northern Ireland Prison Service	View ↗
1 Feb 2023	Ian Jeffers · Commission for Victims and Survivors Northern Ireland, Megan Phair · The Stop Attacks Forum, Mr Peter Murtagh · South East Fermanagh Foundation, Paul Smyth · The Stop Attacks Forum, Sandra Peake · Wave Trauma Centre	View ↗
18 Jan 2023	Clare Moore · Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick · Ulster University, Maxine Murphy Higgins · NASUWT - The Teachers' Union, Mrs Siobhán Harding · Women’s Support Network, Ms Elaine Crory · Women’s Resource and Development Agency, Sonya McMullan · Women's Aid NI	View ↗
12 Dec 2022	John McBurney · Independent Reporting Commission, Mitchell Reiss · Independent Reporting Commission, Monica McWilliams · Independent Reporting Commission, Tim O’Connor · Independent Reporting Commission	View ↗
23 Nov 2022	Daniel Holder · Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), Professor Marie Breen-Smyth the Independent Reviewer of the exercised powers under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007, Úna Boyd · Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ)	View ↗
9 Nov 2022	Dr Brendan Coyle · Ulster University, Dr Conor Murray · Ulster University, Mairead McCafferty · Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Mark Dennison · Irish Football Association, Ms Koulla Yiasouma · Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People	View ↗
26 Oct 2022	Adele Brown · The Northern Ireland Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, Andy Hill · Police Service of Northern Ireland, Mark McEwan · Police Service of Northern Ireland, Naomi Long MLA · Northern Ireland Department of Justice, Richard Pengelly · Northern Ireland Department of Justice	View ↗

Correspondence

4 letters

Date	Direction	Title
7 Jun 2023	—	Correspondence from the Secretary of State, relating to the effect of paramilit…
8 Mar 2023	—	Correspondence from Northern Ireland Prison Service, relating to the effect of …
8 Feb 2023	—	Correspondence to the PSNI relating to the effect of paramilitary activity and …
8 Feb 2023	—	Correspondence from the PSNI relating to the effect of paramilitary activity an…