A body established by the Irish and British governments to monitor the activities of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland has said they continue to exert control in many communities.
Almost 30 years since they declared ceasefires, the main loyalist groups, the UVF and UDA continue to recruit new members and are heavily involved in a wide range of criminal activity.
A number of dissident republican organisations are also operational, with the largest group referred to as the New IRA.
A report published by the Independent Reporting Commission says there needs to be a formal process of transition, including direct engagement with paramilitaries to bring about their disbandment.
It says this "has to involve voluntary action by the groups themselves."
"We argue that seeing out the task of ending paramilitarism is as important as any other issue facing Northern Ireland society and is connected to many others," the report states.
"The continued existence of paramilitarism is a graphic reminder that the work to transform Northern Ireland society and ensure the primacy and centrality of peace and the political process is not yet completed."
The IRC says it believes the cumulative impact of law enforcement efforts is having an impact on the groups and their leaderships, but says more needs to be done.
The report notes that "instability at political level has not helped."
It urges government departments at Stormont to focus on tackling issues such as sectarianism, investment, job creation, poverty, addiction and educational opportunities to help counter paramilitary groups in communities where they operate.
"One of the narratives expressed is has been that the 'Peace Dividend' has not been universally felt across Northern Ireland and that some communities have been left behind in terms of jobs and opportunities," the report states.
"Quite frequently, these communities are also those where a paramilitary presence is prevalent."
The commission adds: "The effect of the cost of living crisis is disproportionately felt in those communities already struggling in socio-economic terms, which are often communities where paramilitary influence tends to be at its strongest.
"We call on the government to give continued special consideration to the needs of communities where paramilitaries mainly operate in measures addressing the cost of living crisis in Northern Ireland."
The report said intimidation by paramilitary groups led to an increase in the number of homeless people in Northern Ireland.
It described as "shocking" the fact that 194 households were "accepted" as homeless by the Housing Executive in 2022-23 due to intimidation, an increase of 45 from the previous year.
"We are mindful of the life-changing effect of paramilitary threats forcing people to leave an area and that there is limited information available about this," the report said.
Figures show that 111 of the cases were in the Ards and North Down council area, where there has been an ongoing feud amongst loyalist paramilitaries.
