Debate contribution: Tackling Paramilitarism

Debate contribution by Ms Michelle O'Neill on 15 October 2024.

MLA

Ms Michelle O'Neill

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

15 October 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Tackling Paramilitarism

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4592596

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle.

I welcome the opportunity to respond to the debate on this important motion. As other Members have indicated, the fact that we are having this conversation more than 26 years after our peace agreement is unbelievable and underlines the fact that more needs to be done to bring an end to the scourge of paramilitarism. There is no doubt that our society continues to suffer an unacceptable burden as a direct result of paramilitarism and that, in addition to serious violence, threats of violence and criminality, those gangs continue to inflict hidden harms on individuals and communities. As many Members have said, that includes child criminal exploitation, violence against women and girls and the extortion of hard-working local communities and businesses. It is clearly a very serious problem that requires a zero-tolerance response from government. We have not shied away from the issue of paramilitarism in the draft Programme for Government. Members have referred to the fact that we noted in the draft Programme for Government that its estimated cost to our society is:

"a minimum of £750 million per year."

Members will be aware that the Executive programme on paramilitarism, criminality and organised crime is jointly funded by the Executive and the British Government. It is investing £16 million a year in work to support individuals and communities experiencing paramilitary harm, as well as to break the cycle of violence. The origin of all the work in that programme was the Fresh Start Agreement of 2015. That is the agreement that led to changes being made to the Pledge of Office taken by all Ministers, under which we make clear our individual and collective responsibility to achieve a society free of paramilitarism. That is a pledge that we all must take seriously.

The programme started delivery in 2016 by acting as a coordinator for responding to the recommendations of an independent panel. Following the comprehensive review of the programme in 2020, a second phase began in 2021. That was endorsed by all the parties in the Executive at the time. That phase was based on a redesign of the programme to reflect the review's finding that, while good progress had been made against individual actions, overall impact had been difficult to measure. Phase 2 is now in its fourth year. Departments, statutory bodies and the community and voluntary sector are working in partnership to deliver an ambitious and innovative programme of work that systematically addresses this serious problem. Today, like many others, I acknowledge the contribution of all the partners that are key to delivery of the programme. There are three overarching linked themes: keeping people safe, which involves putting pressure on criminal groups; increasing community resilience, which is about supporting communities to resist exploitation and harm; and increasing protective factors for those who may be vulnerable to exploitation for many reasons. There is a range of interventions, such as projects for specific groups or individuals who are at risk; support for those who have been victims of harm or have transitioned away from groups and are making a positive impact in their communities; and early interventions aimed at widespread prevention. Focusing on properly understanding the problem and its root causes has been a key feature of the work since 2021. In many cases, the root cause is simply organised criminality. A new phase of the programme's public awareness campaign launched on 4 October. It expands on the previous illegal moneylending campaign. It highlights a range of specific ways in which paramilitaries harm people and communities through violence, the grooming of children, drugs, exploitation and abuse. Raising public awareness of those issues has a real-life impact and gives people the chance to openly discuss the impact that it has on their families and on communities. For a number of years, the programme has led the way in describing the involvement of children with paramilitary groups as grooming and exploitation. It has also funded research that has enabled the development of a system-wide approach to child criminal exploitation led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health. That shift in public language was clear just this summer, when we saw images of adults placing bricks into the hands of children during public disorder. Describing those shocking scenes as exploitation allows for an appropriate response from the police, the courts and those in charge of child protection and safeguarding. That, in turn, ensures that children get the right support to help them to move forward to a more positive future. I am really encouraged by recent figures that show that, whilst there were 18 recorded paramilitary-style attacks on under-18s between 2016 and 2020, there has been only one recorded since 2020. However, that one attack is, of course, one too many. I believe that the change in attitudes and in the way in which we talk about paramilitary attacks is making a real difference. We know that paramilitaries can adapt their means of coercive control. That means that there can be no room for complacency. We also know that there is much more work to be done. A report that was published last month on the link between paramilitary coercive control and gender-based violence by Professor Aisling Swaine makes for harrowing reading. It is not just the horrific violence and threats from those groups that makes tackling the problem so complex; it is the fear created by their very presence. We are committed to working in partnership across the Executive to ensure that there is a joined-up approach. The design of the newly launched strategy to end violence against women and girls is supported by the tackling paramilitarism programme. The development of partnerships across government and wider society has equipped organisations and communities with a wider set of skills and abilities to achieve positive outcomes. Progress towards those outcomes is starting to show real impact. I refer in particular to the Communities in Transition (CIT) project, which is delivered through the Executive Office. Quite literally, tens of thousands of participants have been involved in initiatives delivered by CIT through the Executive Office. It has invested £20 million across eight areas to strengthen community resilience to paramilitarism, criminality and coercive control. As a result, huge progress has been made on community safety in areas such as Lurgan, Carrick and Larne; restorative practice capability to mediate and resolve conflict has been enhanced through the Striving Towards a Restorative Society (STARS) project; and thousands of individuals have benefited from health and well-being and employability support across all areas. Through the Raising Aspirations project, young people have been steered away from involvement in and recruitment to paramilitarism; instead, they have been given opportunities for positive pathways in life. The Independent Reporting Commission commented on the importance of developing the community environment in areas where paramilitaries operate. We agree that CIT should be part of a long-term holistic response to addressing the socio-economic needs in communities. The IRC also reports annually on the progress towards ending paramilitarism and has been strongly supportive of the CIT programme and its cumulative impact. It sees the work of the programme as bearing fruit and sees the need for long-term sustainable funding to tackle paramilitarism and transformational work to address socio-economic issues. The recommendations from such reviews, the data from the programme and the consideration of the wider strategic context were all factors that led to a recommendation by the Justice Minister, as lead Minister for the programme, to extend phase 2 for a further two years until March 2027. That recommendation was discussed and endorsed by the Executive just last month. The extension allows work to progress with ministerial support. It also ensures stability and continuity of service for the next two years for the individuals involved in the programme and the communities that they support. As Members are all too aware, the pervasive nature of paramilitarism requires our commitment to a robust, long-term and collaborative approach. For the past eight years, the programme has been testing and refining what works. From the outcomes that have are being seen, we all have a much better understanding. The focus of the programme's two-year extension will be on the interventions that have the greatest impact and on ensuring that they are embedded and scaled up where appropriate. As a Government and a society, we must all seek to deliver lasting change in how we deal with paramilitarism. That is down to the collective leadership, because that is a crucial part of ensuring progress.

Let me get through to the end, if you do not mind. You will have a chance to respond to the debate. As stated in the Programme for Government, those who are most vulnerable to paramilitary harm are more likely to come from areas of deprivation and to experience poor health and educational outcomes and are less likely to be active in their communities. That is totally unacceptable in 2024. That vicious downward cycle needs to be broken, as our communities all deserve so much more and so much better. We all have a part to play in addressing the scourge of paramilitarism. That means that interventions that have been proven to work and that demonstrate value for money must be supported and continue to evolve beyond the lifespan of the programme. Given the significant progress that has been made and our recent decision to extend the programme, we have asked our officials to engage with DOJ on how the learning from CIT can be built on and enhanced, which includes looking at refreshing the research that identified the target areas. The extension period will be an opportunity to consider how good practice can be captured and shared more widely across the system. That will involve a review prior to the end of the programme to inform decisions on what future work is needed and how best to carry that out. We must all, again, lend our collective support to that important work. Whilst everything that I have set out demonstrates that good work is being done, I must also make it absolutely clear that, 26 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, there is no role for paramilitary groups in our society. There should be no acceptance or, equally, tolerance of their continued existence. The Independent Reporting Commission recommended that both Governments and the Executive explore the concept of group transition. That option needs to be actively considered as a way of urgently and conclusively bringing paramilitarism in our society to an end. In the meantime, the message across the Chamber must be clear and resolute: it is long past time that paramilitaries disbanded, and there should be no acceptance or facilitation of active paramilitary groups in any public policy discussion.

1,793 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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