The Provisional IRA is raising up to £8 million and the "Real IRA" £5 million a year through smuggling, extortion and armed robberies, according to a report released yesterday, writes Suzanne Breen.
The report, by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons, said the Provisionals had running costs of £1.5 million but were raising between £5 and £8 million a year. The "Real IRA" had running costs of £500,000 and was raising £5 million a year.
Dissident republican sources said this figure was "massively exaggerated to fit a security agenda".
The Loyalist Volunteer Force's running costs were £50,000 and it raised £2 million a year, according to the report. The UVF raised £1.5 million and the UDA £1 million.
The report said a crackdown on paramilitary racketeering through the Assets Recovery Agency may be in jeopardy because of a lack of resources. It criticised the allocation of just 10 officers to help in the seizure of criminal assets.