Debate contribution: Paramilitarism, Criminality and Organised Crime
Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on .
- MLA
- Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 5 October 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Paramilitarism, Criminality and Organised Crime
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5774145
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for his important question. It is important to have leadership in that area. I have absolutely no truck with paramilitarism: there was never any role for it in Northern Ireland, and there certainly is not a role for it today. That leadership should send a clear message that paramilitarism was completely unacceptable then and is unacceptable today. Paramilitaries need to get their jackboots off the necks of local communities, and my party has always been clear about that. I welcome the fact that the programme has brought a significant amount of support — £29 million through CIT specifically. The vast majority of that work has been about trying to encourage resilience within communities, because we know that some of those people try to manipulate some very difficult circumstances including addiction, mental health issues, poverty and debt. That programme has done significant beneficial work to support resilience. That is why I support such programmes not just being mainstreamed but continuing.
163 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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