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<p>Paramilitary groups were not justified in the past and they are not justified today.
The then incumbent Secretary of State for Northern Ireland commissioned an assessment
of paramilitary groups which was published in October 2015 and concluded that all
the main loyalist paramilitary groups remain in existence.</p><p> </p><p>We continue
to work with NI Executive Departments on their tackling paramilitarism programme to
which the UK Government has committed £25m of funding. The NI Executive has matched
this commitment. This programme involves actions aimed at long-term prevention, including
supporting those who may be vulnerable to recruitment, building confidence in the
justice system, tackling criminal activity and building community capacity to support
transition.</p><p> </p><p>The Independent Reporting Commission (IRC), established
by the UK and Irish governments, was legally constituted in August 2017. It will report
annually on progress towards ending paramilitary activity including the implementation
of the relevant measures by the UK and Irish governments and the NI Executive’s action
plan.</p><p> </p><p>Having Northern Ireland Executive Ministers in place to provide
strategic direction for this important programme of work is one of the reasons for
my primary focus being on the restoration of devolved government.</p>
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