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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

I understand that that is the legal position, which is precisely the problem. That is why we have tabled the new clause. While we understand that three or more people must be involved in an attack for compensation to be payable, the difficulty is proving that three or more people were involved. We are talking about buildings that have clearly been destroyed for sectarian reasons and as part of a wider campaign, as has been happening for decades in Northern Ireland. It was for precisely that reason that the Government introduced an exception for agricultural premises in section 4 of the 1997 order, to which the Minister referred. That accepted that, for certain types of premises, it would be difficult to provide proof. My party’s suggestion is that the same criteria should apply in relation to halls—primarily Orange halls, but also to nationalist halls such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and others—so that they are not crippled in that way and that local communities are not deprived of an extremely valuable resource, in many cases for years and sometimes for ever. All hon. Members recognise the valuable and important role that such parish halls play in our communities up and down the land, day in and day out.