Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Independent Reporting Commission: Seventh Annual Report

Wednesday 26 February 2025 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 4 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Michael Wheeler welcomed the Government's commitment to tackling paramilitarism in Northern Ireland.
  • Jim Allister criticized the proposal for a special envoy to paramilitary groups, questioning its purpose.
  • Claire Hanna expressed frustration over the ongoing dialogue with paramilitary groups despite their continued negative impact on communities.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Michael Wheeler Lab Worsley and Eccles
Northern Ireland
Context

The Independent Reporting Commission's seventh annual report discusses the ongoing issue of paramilitarism in Northern Ireland, highlighting areas for improvement.

Question

Having spent lots of time with family in Northern Ireland since I was a small child, I have seen the progress made over the years and know what a difference it has made on the ground. I welcome this Government’s commitment to help secure that progress and tackle the scourge of paramilitarism. Does the Secretary of State share my view that making further progress will require a range of measures, and that the Executive’s programme on paramilitarism, criminality and organised crime is a crucial part of that?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)

I do indeed agree with my hon. Friend. That programme is doing very good work, and of course the UK Government are funding it together with the Executive. I also agree that a wide range of approaches needs to be taken, including continuing to use the full force of the law to deal with paramilitary criminality.

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Q2 Jim Allister TUV North Antrim
Northern Ireland
Context

The Secretary of State is considering a scoping study to assess whether there would be public support for a formal process to bring about paramilitary group disbandment, as suggested by the Independent Reporting Commission.

Question

After decades of illegal paramilitary organisations taking successive Governments for a ride over transition and pocketing millions of pounds along the way, the Secretary of State now wants to appoint a special envoy—a nursemaid to paramilitaries. When will this pandering come to an end, and is the Secretary of State going to accept the IRC’s grotesque proposal of moving to de-proscription, under which organisations that murdered thousands of people would ultimately be made legal? Can he at least rule that out?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)

For the avoidance of doubt, there is no question of paying anybody any money to disband. There is no question of doing that at all.

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Q3 Claire Hanna Social Democratic & Labour Party Belfast South and Mid Down
Justice & Courts Northern Ireland
Context

The Secretary of State is considering a scoping study to assess the merits of having a formal process to bring about paramilitary group disbandment.

Question

After all these years, people are bewildered that we are still talking about transitioning paramilitary groups, which have continued to recruit, to grip and to poison communities and current-day politics in Northern Ireland. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that we learn from all the things that have not gone right, and all the previous attempts at transition? Will he commit to ensuring that there is no payday for former paramilitaries, that we take a serious criminal justice approach, and that there are preconditions on such things as emblems and financial assets?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)

For the avoidance of doubt, there is no question of paying anybody any money to disband. There is no question of doing that at all.

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Q4 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Northern Ireland
Context

The Dublin Government is considering the 2021 Horner judgment, which recommended inquiries in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland regarding the Omagh bombing.

Question

I want all paramilitaries off our streets for good, and I also want to see justice done for their victims. That is why I cannot quite understand why the Dublin Government are closing their eyes to the 2021 Horner judgment, which recommended inquiries in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland. The family hearings in Omagh have brought the horror of that day to a new generation. Will the Secretary of State use his influence to call on Dublin to give the Omagh families the public inquiry they deserve and want so, so much?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)

I recognise, not least because of the commemorative hearings that have been taking place in the inquiry, that all the pain, suffering, horror and tragedy of that day have been brought to life again for the families who live with that every single day of the week. I welcome the fact that the Irish Government are committed to co-operating with the Omagh inquiry.

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