Member's statement: Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland

Member's statement by Ms Paula Bradshaw on 11 February 2025.

MLA

Ms Paula Bradshaw

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

11 February 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4793309

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I rise to talk about an ongoing issue that remains too prevalent in Northern Ireland and that continues to undermine the peace, stability and progress of our communities. That issue is paramilitarism, its intergenerational impact and the urgent need for a coordinated response to eradicate it from our communities once and for all. One of the recommendations in the annual statement of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission calls on the Executive Office and the UK Government to keep their eyes on the issue and ensure the allocation of:

"sufficient and sustained long-term resources to the programme to end paramilitarism",

and organised crime and to establish monitoring:

"to ensure the steps taken to end paramilitarism in NI are reflective of the Independent Reporting Commission’s recommendations."

Beyond that, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission stressed the importance for the Executive Office, working alongside other Departments and the PSNI, to tackle the growing links between paramilitarism and the rising incidents of racism, xenophobia and coercive control in our communities. In recent years, we have seen evidence of those links to such crimes in Northern Ireland, and that cannot go unaddressed. For the first time, the true extent of childhood trauma and its impact on the people of Northern Ireland has been documented. Last week, at the launch of a groundbreaking study commissioned by the Executive programme on paramilitarism and organised crime, Justice Minister, Naomi Long, shared the stark findings of the research. The study revealed the significant levels of trauma that continue to impact on our communities across the generations. The report emphasised that 60% of Northern Ireland's adult population reported at least one traumatic childhood event, with nearly one in five experiencing four or more. Of particular concern is the finding that 30% of respondents reported conflict-specific adversities, which highlights the continued long-term impact of the Troubles. Importantly, the research underlines the need for trauma-informed approaches, particularly in socially and economically disadvantaged communities, where those challenges are most concentrated. The research provides us with crucial evidence that childhood trauma, including paramilitary-linked trauma, continues to negatively impact on individuals across their lifetime. It is about time that we saw the full dismantling of our so-called armed groups. It is about transforming attitudes, structures and relationships by taking the findings of the study and ensuring that paramilitary groups no longer have any influence over our communities.

393 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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