Michael O’Leary’s remark about teachers puts Fine Gael on defensive
Fine Gael was forced on to the defensive on the first weekend of the general election campaign after controversial remarks about teachers by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary at a party event.
Mr O’Leary’s comments sparked criticism from across the political spectrum, creating a headache for Taoiseach Simon Harris’s party.
The election race will step up a gear today with Fianna Fáil unveiling its manifesto and the main Opposition party Sinn Féin holding an event to introduce its candidates to the electorate.
General Election 2024
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News in Ireland
- Bar Council rejects barrister’s application to be Simeon Burke’s ‘master’: The Bar Council has rejected a move by an established barrister to break the deadlock over Simeon Burke’s stalled legal career by applying to act as his “master” and take him on as pupil so he can finish his training.
- Rose of Tralee festival beset by financial problems and legal actions: It was a bad year for the roses. New accounts filed by the company behind the yearly Rose of Tralee festival show that the Co Kerry event is deep in the red, losing €72,321 last year and bringing its total liabilities to €320,984.
- Childcare fees set to increase at 600 Government-funded services: Fees are set to increase at about 600 of the State’s roughly 4,300 Government-funded childcare providers over the coming months, according to figures released by the Department of Children.
- ‘It’s eye-wateringly expensive to go away in Ireland’: These are the darkest of days for Irish hospitality. Many restaurants are facing massive pressures with some buckling under the strain while pubs in cities, towns and villages across the country are facing existential threats that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
- Q&A: Why Cop29 matters to you, Ireland and the world: Cop29 begins in Azerbaijan today amid terrible uncertainty because of a disturbed and increasingly unpredictable climate and geopolitics infected by mistrust and conflict.
- Weather forecast: A foggy or misty start in some parts today but any mist and fog will clear through this morning. It will be a dry and bright day with good spells of sunshine. Highest temperatures of 9 to 13 degrees. Tonight will be dry with clear spells. Mist and fog will form, turning dense in some areas with a touch of frost. Lowest temperatures of 0 to 4 degrees.
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The Big Read
- Women walking Camino de Santiago speak of ‘terrifying’ sexual harassment: Lone female pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago have spoken of being subjected to “terrifying” sexual harassment in near-deserted areas of rural Spain, Portugal and France.
Opinion
Business
- Wanted: More bosses on the shop floor: In the interests of research, I wanted to see what the job of news editing looked like since I last worked on that desk in London many years ago.
Sports
- View from New Zealand: Ireland’s problem is they keep bringing the best out of the All Blacks: Ireland may well be sick of it, but they are proving to be quite the catalyst for bringing the best out of the All Blacks and redirecting New Zealand coaching regimes.
World
- A neuropsychologist writes: Why Donald Trump may be giving you sleepless nights, and how to cope: Before the 2008 crash, Bertie Ahern famously quipped that “the boom times are getting even more boomer”.
Life & Style
- I was taught to avoid the ‘trap’ of cooking but I take pleasure in domestic life: When I was 15, our maths teacher gave us life advice. Girls, she said, never learn to type and never learn to make a cup of tea. That way they can’t make you into secretaries.
Podcast Highlights
Why former Leinster rugby star Rocky Elsom is on the run from French police
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