McCarthy anger as closure of last bank in Portaferry is revealed

12.28.00pm GMT Fri 11th Jan 2008

Strangford Alliance MLA Kieran McCarthy

Strangford Alliance MLA Kieran McCarthy has revealed that he has found out that the last bank in Portaferry is to be closed in April. He expressed anger at the planned closure of the Northern Bank branch and said that the growing town of Portaferry will be hit very hard by the move. Kieran McCarthy said that he will continue to fight the closure.

Kieran McCarthy MLA said: "It is a total disgrace that the growing town of Portaferry will be left without any banks from April onwards.

"I only received this news last night and I am shocked and angered.

"The town is at the tip of the Ards Peninsula and will be totally isolated in this respect. The nearest bank will be in Kircubbin, which is 5 miles away from Portaferry.

"This has come as a massive shock to local people. There used to be two banks in the town and now it faces a future with none.

"What are people who don't own a car, and older people with limited mobility meant to do? This is another case of rural isolation and I will strongly fight this move.

"The potential excuse of people being able to use online banking instead is simply not good enough. We all know that face-to-face banking transactions are much more useful when dealing with detailed matters.

"This is a massive blow to the town as jobs will be lost, along with the loss of this vital service."

"I am very annoyed that the Northern Bank are walking away from the town after so many years of business. I will be continuing to keep the pressure on Northern Bank representatives to reverse this decision."

ENDS