South and East Belfast Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Ó Donnghaile expresses dismay at continued Royal Mail reluctance

Published: 17 October, 2007

East Belfast Sinn Féin Representative Niall Ó Donnghaile has expressed his disappointment at the decision by Royal Mail not to provide the community within the Short Strand and Bridge End area with adequate and accessible post box facilities.

"Given Royal Mail's reluctance to re-instate the post box removed from the Short Strand in the 1980's by the then RUC Inspector at Mountpottinger barracks on 'security grounds', I immediately contacted the postal watchdog, Postwatch in order to try and help us with this campaign. Today I was very disheartened to hear from representatives of Postwatch that Royal Mail has once again denied, not only the re-instatement of the post box removed from the Short Strand but our suggestion that one be placed at Bridge End that would serve not only the people of the Short Strand but the communities in Bridge End and Middlepath Street as well."

"This is an issue that Sinn Féin has been campaigning on for many years and we will not allow it to go away, I intend to meet with representatives from Postwatch in order to re-evaluate how best we go about replacing this basic community requirement that should never have been denied in the first place. This area is one of the most socio-economically deprived area's in the North of Ireland and by their actions Royal Mail is doing very little to help alleviate that deprivation."