Paramilitary groups across Northern Ireland were adding as much as 10pc to construction industry costs because of the impact of their racketeering and extortion operations. One file warned that, such was the scale of paramilitary extortion operations across Northern Ireland, construction industry costs per individual project were being increased by as much as 10pc. “The total cost to the exchequer from fraud in the construction industry in Northern Ireland is millions of pounds annually,” it said. “The construction industry continues to be an important source of funds and influence for both republican and loyalist terrorists,” it said. A code of practice for the sector in Northern Ireland was introduced in an effort to address the situation in 1995.

Source: Irish Independent December 29, 2025 14:31 UTC