Varadkar’s ‘bogus’ travel figures get O’Leary talking bullocks
The airline boss started talking “bullshit”, then progressed to “horseshit” before finally using the F-word for fuel and taking-off once more to hit a bruising altitude of 40,000 complaints per minute.
The bull and horse manure references were O’Leary’s blunt take on the Government’s apparently bogus travel figures which then got him talking nothing but bullocks.
“There is no evidence people are coming here unless they are swimming here. The ferries are not going to deliver — only bullocks go by boat anyway.”
But if O’Leary resembled anything related to creatures aquatic it would surely be an angry octopus, as his tentacles appear to lash out in every direction at once.
On public transport plans: “I don’t mind paying fucking millions a year in tax but I do mind it getting fucked away on stupid things.”
On the Department of Transport: “Nothing that they own or operate works.”
On Metro North: “As probably one of the largest taxpayers in the country, I resent my considerable fucking tax payments being pissed away down another hole in north county Dublin.”
On those pushing for a public transport hub at St Stephen’s Green: “Environmental loonies.”
On the previous government: “Green half-wits”.
On running for president: “I am fairly certain that I am unelectable — I have a full-time job so I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t want a part-time one.”
On himself: “As most people know, I’m a very mean, greedy businessman only interested in profits.”
Though just to show he really does have a soft side, O’Leary pledged he will “try” to get on with Transport Minister Varadkar. But as he wants his job and department abolished, it is probably not too much of a guess as to how Leo may view this charm offensive, which contained a tad more offence than charm.
The Ryanair boss is jolly angry that Leo will not reduce the last €3 of his hated travel tax, as the minister insists the airline has failed to deliver on its part of the bargain to open more routes into the country.
The two are now at war over the pretty paltry €30 million a year the tax produces. But it’s really about O’Leary’s bid to be king of the Irish skies and put the pesky minister and his henchmen at the Dublin Airport Authority in their places way beneath him.
Varadkar insists he does not want a “playground fight” with the Ryanair chief and must be aware what a nuisance O’Leary can make of himself, the headlines he loves to manipulate with his deliberately provocative talk of strapping passengers into standing seats and charging them for the luxury of using the toilet.
The two notoriously blunt speakers are now locked onto a collision course with no emergency exit in sight.
But Varadkar freely admits that he has no people skills — so perhaps he and O’Leary will get on just fine after all then.
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