Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 30 November 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

National Aviation Policy: Ryanair

Mr. Michael O'Leary:

No. The vast majority of people in the UK accept that Brexit has not been a success. I would not want to discuss it as a failure. It has not been a success. It has caused untold damage to the UK economy. The problem is that the Brexiteers are still in senior positions in the Tory Party. The most immediate impact of Brexit on us has been incredible restrictions in the labour market in the UK. We pay our cabin crew above retail, hospitality and agriculture so we have never had any difficulty getting people but lots of UK kids do not want to work as cabin crew anymore so we bring in Italians, Portuguese or, in some cases, Poles. We are no longer allowed to bring them in. We can apply for visas. It was remarkable. Last year, we applied for visas for cabin crew in Stansted Airport. The Home Office would give us visas for Moroccans and Turks and would not give us visas for Portuguese and Italians. If you had a European passport, it would not give you a visa. It is irrational stuff.

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