Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the latest report of the Independent Reporting Commission, published on 7 December.

I refer the Noble Lord to the written statement made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 7 December with regard to the fifth report of the Independent Reporting Commission. As noted in that statement, the report highlights progress in a number of areas, including disruptions to paramilitary groups as a result of operations by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, the downward trend in some aspects of paramilitary activity demonstrated by PSNI security statistics, and the reduction in the Northern Ireland-related Terrorism threat level from SEVERE to SUBSTANTIAL.

Yet the report also notes that the problem of paramilitarism is enduring. A number of incidents in recent weeks have demonstrated the callous disregard that paramilitary groups, or those who claim affiliation with them, have for public safety, and the harm and disruption they continue to cause to the communities they often claim to represent.

Paramilitarism was never justified in the past, and cannot be justified today. It needs to end for good. It is clear that a sustained effort is required here over the long term to tackle the enduring problem of paramilitarism. We remain committed to delivering our vision of a safer, more secure Northern Ireland and to working with partners to support efforts against the enduring threat and harms posed to communities by terrorist and paramilitary groups.

Political leadership from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland is essential to ensure it remains clear there is no place for paramilitarism. The lack of a functioning Executive inhibits Northern Ireland Departments from taking a strategic, cross-cutting approach to tackling paramilitarism in partnership with the PSNI and the wider public sector. It remains the Northern Ireland Office’s top priority to rectify the present situation.