The alleged influence of both republican and loyalist paramilitaries in the "black taxi" trade and a number of building firms in the North was the subject of monitoring by Stormont officials in 1976.
At a meeting at Stormont on October 21st, 1976, the question of "black taxis" was raised. An official, a "Mr Carter", expressed "amazement" that a police officer had described a candidate's character as "good" when he had been in prison for firearms offences in the Republic.
It was agreed to take up the case with the RUC Chief Constable. A few days later, on October 26th, 1976, a Northern Ireland Office official at Stormont Castle, J A Cradock, sent a detailed letter to Mr (now Sir) Ken Bloomfield at the Department of the Environment at Stormont on a number of firms with strong paramilitary links.
In a thinly veiled reference to a well-known west Belfast taxi firm, Cradock wrote that it was "managed by men with strong Provisional IRA/Provisional Sinn Féin connections. Since it was formed by detainees from within the Maze, it seems reasonable to assume that most at least of its 200-plus members share their views. It is generally regarded as a PIRA/PSF business."
The official referred to a similar IRA-based firm in Derry, formed to employ former detainees. He added: "It is reported to pay 20 per cent of its profits to PIRA and has a leading member of the PIRA in Londonderry on its board."
The official also refers to two building companies (the names of which have been blacked out in the original document) which were linked to the Official IRA. One was owned by a man whose son was an Official IRA officer while half its workforces were "ex-detainees" with PIRA, Official IRA and Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) traces.
One building firm (its name blanked out) was described as "closely linked with the UDA".