Debate contribution: Tackling Paramilitarism

Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on 15 October 2024.

MLA

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

15 October 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Tackling Paramilitarism

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4592611

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I welcome the contributions that Members have made to the debate, and I thank the First Minister for responding to it. It is clear that, more than 26 years after our peace agreement and 30 years on from the republican and loyalist ceasefires, it should be a source of shame and disappointment to us all that paramilitarism still exerts a toxic and corrosive influence in all the communities that we represent. Many Members across the House expressed their frustration about the hold that those organised criminals have over our young people in particular. I hope that the debate represents an opportunity for all of us to come together on the issue and for progress to be made. As mentioned in the debate, paramilitaries are nothing short of organised criminal gangs that want to trap us in our divisions and exploit our young people for their own gain. Opening the debate, the leader of the Opposition clearly laid out that the paramilitaries have nothing to offer our society and that their influence is totally pervasive. The damage that they inflict on communities runs deep and has the most perverse impact on the most vulnerable among us. Many masquerade as protectors of communities, but we all know far too well that they prey on the fear and intimidation that they inflict. Colm Gildernew indicated that the LCC was acting as a mouthpiece for criminal gangs. Beyond the direct influence of paramilitaries in communities, it is also hard to ignore that, driving through some areas of Derry and lots of other areas across the North, you can see their insignia and symbols dotted around the landscape and on lamp posts. I agree with Paula Bradshaw that those symbols and flags create an intimidating and menacing culture of fear in communities across Northern Ireland. They drive really poor relations and create an environment in which nobody in Northern Ireland wants to live and nor should they. It is a failure of this place to get serious about regulating the flying of flags. Today should be another opportunity to reiterate our calls for that to take place without delay through binding legislation. It would be remiss of me not to mention recent research by the Foyle Family Justice Centre on the impact of paramilitarism on women and its connections with domestic violence. The report on that research calls it an unseen aspect of today's paramilitarism and one that is hidden in plain sight. I pay tribute to the women who came forward and told their stories, which were often harrowing and deeply distressing. Their lives were permeated by fear not only of the abuser but of the threat that underlies the abuse. The report's 10 recommendations must be implemented, and the new framework of "paramilitary-related coercive control", which was developed as part of this research, should no doubt form a new and key part of our response. The issue must also be tackled through the new ending violence against women and girls strategy, and I am really concerned that the new strategy commits only £3 million to tackling the entire issue over two years. Perhaps, in response to the First Minister's point, money could be found in the other pot, the Communities in Transition pot, for supporting ending violence against women and girls. Of course, the actions of paramilitaries that I and others have described in the debate are well known, and the condemnation is equally well rehearsed. What do we do about it? Our motion calls for the review of the tackling paramilitarism programme. I am aware of much of the good work of that programme and those who work tirelessly to address the issue. We recognise that some progress has been made, with paramilitary-style assaults and intimidation reduced. However, it is much less clear to many people whether the Communities in Transition element of that programme is effective. In some cases, we have seen how community gatekeeping has been reinforced. The community resilience interventions funded by Communities in Transition are important. However, with a spend of over £19 million, the public rightly ask whether that represents true value for money.

I absolutely agree with the Member, and I am coming on to that. I am not sure that the current approach represents true value for money and whether it will lead to the end of paramilitarism once and for all. In a recent answer to a question for oral answer, the deputy First Minister said that paramilitarism represents a:

"residual problem in some parts of our society." — [Official Report (Hansard), 13 May 2024, p27, col 1].

That is a worrying underestimation of the scale of the problem. When paramilitary representatives are being invited into the heart of government and given privileged access that many in our communities, including community organisations, could only dream of, it is hard to see how the Executive Office's work can be effective when the very Ministers in the Executive are meeting paramilitaries. Many Members expressed their disappointment and anger at the Education Minister and the Communities Minister, who have denied multiple meetings with grassroots community groups and voluntary organisations yet find the time to meet paramilitaries. The Education Minister has turned down over 205 requests for meetings, but he managed to find time in his diary for a meeting with the LCC after it sent him a one-line email request. Now, that is access. Our Government cannot continue to pander to paramilitary organisations. Indeed, as Gerry Carroll said, we cannot have a revolving door for paramilitary groups.

OK.

Steve Aiken made that point in his address as well, and I totally agree with Connie Egan's assertion that it is long past time for those paramilitaries to leave the stage and to do so for good. We need to see an end point, as Matthew just said. That end point was unclear in the First Minister's response. Our current approach is clearly not working, and we must not let this Assembly mandate end, as the previous one did, with very little movement made and organised crime still able to control communities. The contributions from Members across the Chamber during the debate affirmed that there is cross-party support and agreement for change on the issue, but the Government must deliver a better society and reconcile our people. I urge the Executive and the Assembly to step up to the challenge and support our motion and stamp out paramilitarism once and for all.

1,079 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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