Catholic primary school children at Holy Cross Girls’ School faced weeks of loyalist protests on their way to school from June 2001.

The dispute made world headlines due to the reports and photographs of hundreds of riot police protecting parents and children from demonstrators throwing sectarian abuse and missiles.

In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the Department said it had received eight claims under the Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2002 and settled three of them.

The Department did not state how much had been paid out or how much it expected to pay out.

Awards under the scheme can vary in size from £1,000 to £250,000.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: “It is not possible to provide a projected cost, as Compensation Services are unable to predict how many claims will be received.”

Children who were involved in the Holy Cross dispute have until their 20th birthday to lodge a criminal injury claim.

Father Aidan Troy, parish priest in Ardoyne at the time, told the Belfast Telegraph: “My attitude is if people go through the right channels to make any sort of application that a court or board of compensation will recognise, they have every right to do so.

“I can fully understand why people who have been through trauma would want to apply for compensation.

“These were girls aged between four and 11, they were very young and very impressionable and were deeply affected by it.”