§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in each of the last three years there have been complaints from(a) the Government of the Irish Republic, (b) Donegal county council or Donegal county councillors, and (c) persons residing in County Donegal, regarding damage to property alleged to have been caused by explosives set off by the Army in County Londonderry; what was the extent of such alleged damage; what compensation has been claimed; and what sums have been involved.
§ Mr. FreemanAs a result of explosives tests carried out at Magilligan point, County Londonderry, between November 1985 and 1986, a total of 53 claims for alleged structural damage to property were received from residents of the Greencastle area of County Donegal. Of these, 30 were pursued by the claimants. After careful investigation, those claims were repudiated by my Department in February 1987. My Department has received no complaints from Donegal county council or Donegal county councillors. Information relating to these claims has been exchanged with the Irish Government on a number of occasions since 1985.