Alarming levels of paramilitary influence in the running of Belfast will spread, the city’s mayor claimed tonight.
The city could be locked in the grip of the men who control republican and loyalist groups for at least a generation, Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers warned.
"It will be a long hard slog before the evils of paramilitarism are finally eradicated," he said.
Even though the IRA and most of the main loyalist paramilitary organisations are still officially on ceasefire, security chiefs and senior civil servants believe the groups are being heavily financed by extortion, blackmail and intimidation.
A city hall survey has revealed public concern that paramilitaries exercise more control over the city than the police and the Assembly.
Eight per cent of the 1,500 people questioned said terror had a major role in its affairs, ranking third behind Belfast City Council itself and the Department of the Environment.
Mr Rodgers said he was concerned that paramilitaries were becoming increasingly ruthless to maintain their control. Statistics released by the Northern Ireland Office revealed that punishment attacks last year were higher than 10 years ago.
"Sadly, people in certain areas feel they have to go to the loyalist or republican paramilitaries when they have a problem," he added.