Fine Gael start campaign on backfoot after O’Leary comments

Celebrity endorsements don’t quite carry the same weight in Irish political campaigns, but Ryanair boss Micahel O’Leary saw fit to endorse a local Fine Gael candidate – Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke.

Burke is the TD for Longford-Westmeath, O’Leary’s constituency, and O’Leary endorsed at an event on Saturday.

“We need a government that delivers for enterprise, that creates jobs. We need a government that delivers infrastructure that fixes the problems we face today, and above all, it’s vital that we elect a government that gets shit done,” endorsing the party that has been in power since 2011.

“Frankly I’m fed up with the left-wing politicians telling us that if they tax us more and spend more, all will be well.”

O’Leary, famous for his incendiary comments, said “the Dail is full of teachers – nothing wrong with teachers, I love teachers – but I wouldn’t generally employ a lot of teachers to go out and get things done.”

O’Leary’s comments caused no less than Taoiseach Simon Harris to distance himself from the comments and noted that Fine Gael themselves are running teachers as candidates.

ASTI General Secretary Kieran Christie called the comments “ignorant and risible.”

He said the comments “cannot be allowed to distract from the real issues in this election from an ASTI perspective.”

“These include the need for postponement of the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme to allow for badly needed adjustments to take place, measures to address the chronic recruitment and retention crisis and the lifting of Ireland off the bottom rung of the OECD ladder in terms of investment.

“Rather than insulting the teaching profession – which has a sterling track record of educating the youth of the country – with baseless jibes, efforts to iron out the enormous challenges within the system would be a more productive endeavour”.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said “I think it is completely inappropriate that they would be jeered and demeaned in the way that they were at a Fine Gael event. It is hard enough to get teachers into our classrooms.”

Local Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe has said he “wholeheartedly disagrees” with O’Leary’s remarks.

“Our teachers have not only been integral in shaping the minds of the next generation, but they have also helped build the very fabric of modern Ireland. To suggest that they cannot ‘get things done’ is not only misguided but dismisses the profound impact they have already had on our country’s progress.”

“Our democracy benefits when we have diverse backgrounds and viewpoints at the decision-making table. Our education system has been a foundational pillar in shaping modern Ireland, and teachers play an essential role both in and out of the classroom. Their presence in politics is something to be celebrated, not diminished,” the Dublin North-West TD said.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon invoked The Simpsons in his reply to the affair, saying that O’Leary “said the quiet part out loud.”

“Under the outgoing government, teachers have often felt like the butt of a joke. However, last night’s open mocking was a stark revelation about where Fine Gael’s loyalties lie.”

“Ultimately, it should come as no surprise that Fine Gael would prefer to cosy up to corporate interests than defend the hard work of tens of thousands of teachers all over the country.

“Siding with big business, while eroding public services and showing disdain for public servants, is a core part of their ethos. Michael O’Leary just said the quiet part out loud.”

People Before Profit candidate in Fingal East Ollie Power said “I’m currently involved in a campaign against Michael O’Leary’s Ryanair bulk buying homes in Fosterstown Place in Swords and leaving most of them vacant since they bought them at the start of this year. Michael O’Leary and Fine Gael are well met. They don’t care about ordinary people and the struggles they face to just have a home and get by. What we saw in the video was a despicable multi-millionaire promoting a despicable party. In all of the lessons that matter: our grade for Fine Gael and Michael O’Leartry is F minus”.