§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide a breakdown of the costs of public disturbances in summer 1996 in Northern Ireland. [10977]
§ Sir John WheelerIt is not possible to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the costs of public disturbances over the summer of 1996 in Northern Ireland. Clearly the widespread unrest and the many instances of rioting and other violence have had a profound effect on all communities in Northern Ireland both politically and emotionally as well as financially.
However, it is possible to estimate the financial costs in some areas of public expenditure where the public order situation led to additional expenditure over what might normally have been expected. In particular, it is a matter of public record that the additional costs arising from policing parades and other demonstrations in July and August amounted to approximately £13 million. In addition, the Compensation Agency has calculated the cost of potential criminal damage claims to be approximately £20 million. Not all of these claims have been settled and the figure given is an estimate as to the possible final cost of compensating the public and industry vehicles, assessed from claims received by the agency.
These figures do not take into account other areas of unquantifiable costs such as personal injury claims, the cost of repairing damage to roads, etc., nor the loss of potential investment or tourism during this period.