Northern Ireland Secretary visits Wrightbus on back of landmark £18.2 billion Budget boost to the region

Northern Ireland Secretary visits Wrightbus on back of landmark £18.2 billion Budget boost to the region

Leading zero emission bus pioneer Wrightbus today (THURS 31 OCT) welcomed the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn MP, to show him first-hand how the biggest deal in its history is helping to put Northern Ireland at the forefront of the green energy revolution.

Mr Benn met with Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales and other members of the Wrightbus team on the visit, which took place just 24 hours after a record £18.2 billion was announced for the Northern Ireland Executive in 2025/26 in the budget.

Last month, Wrightbus signed a landmark deal worth up to half-a-billion pounds to supply more than 1,000 buses to operator Go-Ahead over the next three years – 90 per cent of which will be zero-emission.

Mr Benn heard how the deal, which is the largest in its 78-year history, is helping to drive forwards a green economic revolution by not only decarbonising the transport sector at an historic scale, but also creating thousands of green jobs in the UK manufacturing sector and stimulating economic growth.

Hundreds of Go-Ahead buses will be built each year for the next three years at the Wrightbus Ballymena headquarters – directly creating 500 good green jobs alongside multiple training and upskilling opportunities. An additional 1,500 jobs will also be created across the UK supply chain. 

More than 5,500 jobs in the supply chain are already supported by the phenomenal growth of Wrightbus, which has worked with over 1,000 suppliers across the UK since 2019.

Wrightbus CEO, Jean-Marc Gales, said the visit had come at a significant moment for Wrightbus and for Northern Ireland. 

“This is a hugely proud moment for Wrightbus and the whole of Northern Ireland and we are incredibly grateful for the support from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and his colleagues in Westminster.

“Wrightbus continues to go from strength to strength, creating jobs, developing skills, supporting a growing supply chain and reducing Co2 emissions in towns, cities and urban areas across the UK and beyond.

“Our ecosystem includes suppliers from 47 counties across the United Kingdom, generating thousands of jobs and millions of pounds in revenue for a myriad of businesses, and helping to raise millions more for the UK treasury thanks to the tax-paying jobs we support.

“It’s heartening to see the budget will encourage further economic growth in Northern Ireland. Our buses and products have been exported to Asia, Australia and Europe and we have ambitious plans to increase those numbers over the next 12 months. We want to keep this success story going to show that Northern Ireland can be the epicentre of the great green transport revolution,” added Mr Gayles.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said: “It has been fantastic to visit Wrightbus and to witness first-hand how the company is supporting the UK Government’s missions to kickstart economic growth and make the UK a clean energy superpower by making the buses of the future.

“Speaking to the young apprentices and workers and witnessing the innovative manufacturing process, it’s clear that Wrightbus is making an important contribution to boosting local skills and employment.

“This expertise will be put to good use in fulfilling the Go-Ahead contract, ensuring a bright future for employees and the wider supply chain.”

The visit comes on the back of an enormously successful year for Wrightbus, which was recently named as fastest growing bus manufacturer in the UK and Europe.