The Irish and British governments are to appoint an independent expert to assess the merits of engaging directly with paramilitary groups still operating in Northern Ireland as part of a process to encourage them to cease to exist.
More than 26 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement a report published today makes clear that paramilitaries continue to operate and wield influence in many areas.
The report by the Independent Reporting Commission said coercive control and threats linked to paramilitary groups "persist and remain a real concern".
It said there needs to be an agreed formal process of "Group Transition" and that this would involve "direct engagement with the paramilitary groups themselves, in order to bring about their ending".
The decision to appoint an expert to assess whether there is merit in such a process was announced in separate statements by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn.
"We are pleased to announce that we have agreed to jointly appoint an independent expert in the period ahead to carry out a short scoping and engagement exercise to assess whether there is merit in, and support for, a formal process of engagement to bring about paramilitary group transition to disbandment," Mr Harris said.
"It is my hope that this initiative will advance us towards our shared objective of ending paramilitarism once and for all."
Mr Benn said he wanted to make clear that the appointment was not the start of a formal process of engagement.
"This scoping exercise is also not a part of, or alternative to, the existing law enforcement and criminal justice measures," he added.
"I also want to be clear that no financial offer will be made to paramilitary groups or to individuals involved in them in exchange for an end to violence and ongoing harms."
The IRC report said the activities of paramilitaries include intimidation, financial extortion, sexual exploitation, creating communities where people are afraid to speak out, and stifling alternative voices and leadership.
It said some use membership of paramilitary organisations for overt criminality like drug dealing, and that there is an increasing interaction with organised crime groups.
The attempted murder of a man in west Belfast at the weekend illustrated the continuing threat posed by paramilitaries.
The 49-year-old victim, who was shot twice, was a member of Republican Network for Unity, a political party with links to a dissident organisation called Óglaigh na hÉireann.
It is thought he was targeted as part of a feud.
A number of dissident republican paramilitary groups, including the New IRA, remain active and continue to target police officers in Northern Ireland.
Members of another, the Irish National Liberation Army, are heavily involved in a range of criminal activity including drug dealing.
The main loyalist groups, the UVF and UDA, continue to recruit and have thousands of members across Northern Ireland.
Many of their members are also involved in a range of criminality including drugs.
A recent poster campaign in republican and loyalist areas in recent weeks also highlighted the ongoing threat as part of a Stormont initiative aimed at reducing paramilitary influence.
The IRC report said 214 households were deemed to be homeless as a result of paramilitary intimidation during the year 2023-24. The vast majority were in areas where loyalist groups have a strong presence.
It said 18% of those who responded to a survey agreed or strongly agreed that paramilitary groups create fear and intimidation in their area, while 27% agreed or strongly agreed that paramilitary groups contribute to crime, drug-dealing and anti-social behaviour in their area.
The Commission praised efforts by the Stormont Executive to address the deep-rooted problem, saying there are now more than 100 projects and initiatives to tackle socio-economic conditions linked to paramilitarism such as poverty, access to services and barriers to education.
The IRC also said there needs to be an agreed formal process of "Group Transition".
'Madness'
Stormont's Justice Minister Naomi Long has described the decision by the Irish and UK governments to appoint an independent figure to examine whether a formal process of engagement with paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland is required to bring about their disbandment as "madness".
Ms Long said: "I have no confidence in this for two reasons. First of all, despite asking repeatedly, I have not had the IRC or anyone else identify a single credible barrier to these organisations disbanding, or transitioning, if that is what they want to do.
"Secondly, I am unclear when people talk about group transition what they see the end product of that being. When I ask that question nobody can define it for me.
"I am very clear it is about individuals stopping the harm they are causing in communities and behaving like ordinary citizens.
"Could you imagine the government engaging in this way with any other criminal gang? It is unthinkable. I think it is madness, I don't think it will work because I don't believe there are barriers to those who wish to stop."
Ms Long also said the scoping exercise over paramilitary groups established by the two governments could "cause harm" in Northern Ireland.
"It is hard to say it is not part of a process if you are talking about appointing an independent person to engage with illegal organisations. That in itself is a process that could cause harm. This idea that you can spin the wheel and see if it works, I think is absolutely flawed."
Ms Long said she hoped the initiative by the Irish and UK governments "does not unpick" good work which has been done to tackle paramilitarism in Northern Ireland.
"These people [paramilitaries] have nothing to offer communities. They are not bringing protection, they are not bringing anything positive into communities.
"What they are doing is exploiting the most vulnerable, often women and children, for their own ends.
"They are interested in two things - power and money.
"I think to have an interlocutor is to suggest at some level there is some conversation to be had.
"The only conversation to be had with paramilitaries at this point of time is to tell them they need to exit the stage."
Additional reporting PA
