The cost of policing parades in Northern Ireland for the "marching season" this year was almost €14 million and the traditional Twelfth of July parades in Belfast by the Orange Order cost over €900,000 to police.
There were 3,045 parades in Northern Ireland this year, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. "Although the majority of those parades passed off peacefully, they all needed to be policed, either to a greater or lesser extent," according to a PSNI statement.
"Belfast, in particular, sadly witnessed some of the worst violence and unprecedented disorder in many years. It is our role to uphold the law and the cost of upholding this law and policing this violence and disorder is high." Expenditure on the policing of parades between April 1st and September 30th was £9,242,580 or over €13.6 million. The cost of policing Orange Order parades in the Belfast area on July 12th was £642,000 or approximately €945,000.
This year's parades were the occasion for some of the worst clashes between loyalists and nationalists for years. At one July 12th parade in Ardoyne, north Belfast more than 100 police officers and eight members of the public were injured.
Two months later, another 93 officers were injured, along with two soldiers and an unknown number of civilians when rioting broke out at the Whiterock parade and loyalists attacked police and troops with guns and bombs.
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has pointed out that policing alone will not solve the problems that arise in connection with parades and he appealed for dialogue as a means of resolving differences. "It gives us no pleasure to stand in numbers between communities who refuse to engage with each other to resolve their differences, but until they do we will continue to do our job and it will continue to cost money on this scale.
"The community as a whole has other policing needs and priorities to which these resources could be better directed. I am appealing to all those involved in parading and protesting to consider this and engage in dialogue," Mr Orde said.