Other News In Brief

Wrightbus Recruitment 'Great News For Local Economy' – DUP

DUP MP Ian Paisley has said that he is "delighted" at the news that Wrightbus will be increasing its permanent workforce to almost 1,000 with the recruitment of 300 new jobs.

Welcoming the announcement, the North Antrim MP said: "I am delighted for Wrightbus. This is a significant development. The effort made to increase bus orders from around the country means that the company is able with confidence to expand. These will be full time jobs and not agency jobs so it is a significant boost for the company. It is great news for the local economy and once again sets manufacturing and precision engineering as one of the premier employers.

"In just over a year and approaching its second anniversary under the new management of Jo Bamford and his team, the company has gone from millions of debt and bankruptcy to profitability.

"It is now exceeding growth plans and expectations. All of this has been done with minimal government intervention.

"I have today written to the Prime Minister reminding him of his zero emissions objectives. He has stated he wants to see 4000 zero emission busses in the U.K. in his first term as PM. Only a handful of these busses have been ordered and built. The Government's promise on this would be a significant boost for bus building across the U.K. and one that Wrightbus with its advanced technology would gain from. It is up to the PM and his transport team to now make good on these commitments and I believe orders resulting from that would increase employment on this site yet again.

"Hydrogen technology is the way ahead for zero emissions and a hydrogen hub in Ballymena training engineers and developing products would be a natural fit for the area. The prospects of this throw out challenges to schools and colleges to encourage engineering and science subjects to local children as there will be significant and skilled jobs available in this sector in the years ahead. We do have a skills shortage and that gap must be plugged."

Alliance Launches Petition For Improved EV Charging

The Northern Ireland Executive has come under pressure to improve the Electric Vehicle (EV) charging networking across the region with the launch of a new petition.

Alliance Party Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Muir MLA has launched the online public petition, calling on Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon to improve the network. The online petition notes that while Northern Ireland's EV charging network was world-leading when it was established back in 2010, a decade of decay and under-investment has seen it fall to being the worst network of any region in the UK and Ireland.

The petition calls on the Minister for Infrastructure to set out a comprehensive and detailed strategy for the rapid improvement of the public EV charging network, and will be presented to the Minister when the Northern Ireland Assembly returns from recess in September.

Mr Muir said: "Northern Ireland's EV charging network is a shambles. At a time when we need to be encouraging people to switch to EVs to tackle the climate emergency, the awful state of our current charging network means that people who previously had bought an EV are considering switching back to petrol or diesel cars.

"I speak to constituents in North Down all the time who would like to switch to an EV, but worry that they won't be able to charge their vehicles when they need to. For those who regularly take long journeys for work or to see family, the lack of a reliable charging network across Northern Ireland is the major issue. For those without a driveway, the lack of on-street or at work charge points makes EV ownership almost impossible. In addition to the charging network, the Alliance Party's Green New Deal has called for interest free loans which could be used on top of existing grants to encourage people to go electric.

"The Department for Infrastructure cannot wash its hands of this issue, and there has been a real lack of progress since the Assembly was restored in January 2020. The Minister urgently needs to bring forward and comprehensive and detailed strategy that will bring the public and the private sector to work together to build a fit-for-purpose, on-street EV charging network. This petition will send a strong statement to the Minister, and I urge people to sign it."

Support For 18 New Homes In Belfast

Belfast City Council has thrown its support behind plans to build 18 new homes in north Belfast.

The proposal on the Hillview site was approved recently by the Council's Planning Committee.

Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín has welcomed the backing from the Council.

"There are 4,000 people on waiting lists for a home in north Belfast," the MLA said.

"Today I met with Belfast City Council's Planning Committee and made a presentation on a proposal to build homes on the mixed use Hillview site.

"I'm delighted that the Council committee has now backed the proposal to include 18 homes at Hillview.

"There is an onus on all political parties to get to grips with the housing crisis and ensure that opportunities like the Hillview development are seized with both hands to build homes for those who need them."