Ireland’s prime minister has branded remarks made by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary about teachers “crass and ill-informed”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris also said Mr O’Leary would not have any further involvement in his party’s campaign.
The CEO of Irish budget airline Ryanair said during a Fine Gael event over the weekend he would not hire teachers to “get things done”.
Addressing the comments, Fine Gael leader Harris, who last week announced Ireland’s next general election will take place at the end of the month, said he was “annoyed” at Mr O’Leary’s remarks.
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“I think the comments made were crass, they were ill informed. I’m pretty annoyed about it,” he said, while remarking on how parliament was “meant to be reflective of society”.
Mr Harris went on to praise teachers as “the people that we can trust with our most precious possessions: our children, I know that in my own house”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris. File pic: PA
“And there’s not that many people who can stand up in front of a classroom for five seconds and last, let alone for the full day, for the full week, full month, it is a tough job.”
Mr O’Leary doubled down on his remarks on Monday, telling Newstalk there are “too many teachers in the Dail” parliament and they are not “the best people to deliver the kind of change and enterprise we need”.
“This country is facing enormous challenges over the next decade, where the population is going to rise from five to six million people,” Mr O’Leary said.
“Now we need lots of teachers delivering excellent education in the classroom, but a Dail where there is a striking surplus of teachers in the Dail is not necessarily one that’s going to get things done.
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“I want to see more people enter the Dail from private enterprise, from the private sector, and that’s the energy we need if we’re going to fix the infrastructure challenges we face, and if we’re going to provide housing and infrastructure for a population of six million people.
“I think teachers do a great job in the classroom, but I’m not sure that teachers in the Dail are necessarily the best people to deliver the kind of change and enterprise we need.”