MICHAEL O'LEARY
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The Irish tourism sector has been decimated with alarmingly low numbers of visitors coming here this year. Bookings in some areas are down 50 per cent on normal season highs.
Mr O'Leary blames the slump on the introduction of the €10 travel tax by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in his Budget last October.
"The stupid travel tax is devastating to this country's tourism business," he said.
"Since it was introduced, traffic in May is down 15 per cent and in June it'll be down another 15 per cent, I'd say. The problem is that Ireland is an island economy. Sixty per cent of the total traffic is inbound traffic.
"The Government is the one that is screwing the tourism industry and I hear lots of crap that it's the recession. Ryanair will grow by nine million passengers this year, up 15 per cent. The only place we are cutting routes is Ireland.
"The Dutch and the Belgians have both scrapped their travel taxes and the Greeks and the Spanish have reduced their airport fees to zero. They're all cutting taxes and we are raising ours. They are laughing at us. We are the only island upping our taxes -- f***ing crazy. Traffic numbers will be down 15 per cent or three million passengers will be lost. The Vat loss on that is €240m, all on the back of a tax that will raise no more than €80m."
Mr O'Leary blasted Taoiseach Brian Cowen for his lack of leadership but described his predecessor Bertie Ahern as the State's most useless taoiseach.
"I have faith in Cowen, but he is not leading the country at the moment. The bloody civil service are running the country. There is no decisive action but, in fairness, he was handed a poisoned chalice by Bertie.
"There is no doubt that Bertie Ahern was the most useless taoiseach this country has ever had. He squandered the wealth of an entire generation. Divvying it up, buying off every vested interest, establishing quangos left, right and centre, just to keep everyone happy.
"Worse still, he brought the useless social partners into government buildings where [David] Begg and others live. When Ray MacSharry went in there in 1987 he locked the doors of Finance and told all those useless bastards to f*** off. Who elected David Begg to anything?"
The outspoken 48-year-old head of Europe's largest airline outlined what he would do in terms of reforming the public sector.
"Firstly, I'd shut all the quangos. There are about 1,000 of them costing about €6bn a year; there is no need for them. I'm sorry, but we don't need the society for the protection of bogside rural lesbian immigrant workers. We can't afford it so you're closed.
"Secondly, I'd ban all compulsory sick days in the public sector. Most civil servants get 10 compulsory sick days a year. It's just another two weeks' holidays. I'd introduce legislation that nobody in the public sector can work less than 40 hours a week. All these people on 32 hours a week, f*** off.
"You're all working 40 hours a week, and you're getting 20 days holidays a year like everyone else and if you're sick, produce a sick cert. Now, you have just increased productivity in the public service by 20 per cent."
