Three hundred and fifty claims for criminal damage were submitted to the Government following the worst rioting in Northern Ireland for years last autumn, it emerged today.
Serious trouble last September followed an Orange Order parade in west Belfast and sparked a deluge of claims from home and business owners affected.
Areas of Rathcoole and the Greater Shankill were devastated by several days of fighting with the security forces which left 60 police officers injured and scores of ruined properties.
Former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) West Belfast Councillor Chris McGimpsey said: "It gives you some indication of the destabilising effect that rioting of this kind has on the community and it illustrates that difficulties should be resolved a different way.
"It shows there is no need for the scenes which we had last autumn."
Soldiers were cleared this month by an independent expert of recklessly firing their weapons during rioting at last year's Whiterock parade.
Assessor of military complaints Jim McDonald said the soldiers' response to the clashes was "proportionate". Loyalist mobs went on the rampage when the Orange Order parade was rerouted.
Troops fired five live rounds and 140 plastic bullets during three days of trouble.
Soldiers and police officers were attacked with petrol and blast bombs as well as bullets during rioting which saw 63 people arrested and 60 police officers and one soldier injured.
The figures were revealed in the Compensation Agency's latest annual report, which also shows falling numbers of claims for damage by security forces during property searches.
Numbers dropped from 6,388 in 2001/02 to 58 in 2005/06.
The cut was linked to a crackdown on fraudsters coining millions from the Government as well as reduced military presence in areas like South Armagh.
The agency introduced fresh regulations requiring detailed information from claimants in 2002/03. Policing Board UUP member Danny Kennedy said: "I welcome the fact that more rigour is being applied to cases.
"While genuine cases must be considered and treated in the appropriate way. I think the large reduction in figures does confirm the suspicion that there were quite a number of bogus claims for compensation which were accepted at face value.
"Large sums of public money was shelled out on the basis of claims which were were at best dubious and at worst fraudulent, so clearly the tightening-up exercise was needed."
Sinn Fein's demilitarisation spokesman, Davy Hyland, said: "The fact remains that far too much repressive legislation and repressive powers still rest in the hands of the PSNI and British military in Ireland.
PA