Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has hit out at government over energy credit payments, arguing that giving grants to “rich people like me” will not solve inflation.
The CEO spoke to Virgin Media earlier today about rising energy costs and the €200 energy payment that the government plans to issue before Christmas. He said that current attitudes towards the energy crisis were “overblown” and criticised the payment that will be issued to all Irish households.
Michael said: “The more you give consumers blank cheques, the more you drive inflation forward. We all need to tighten our belts and the only way out of it is to reduce needless spending.”
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The 61-year-old then added: “The government giving 200 euro subsidies to rich people like me is not the way out of this.”
These comments arrive as Ireland prepares to face an expensive winter, with electricity and gas bills expected to rise dramatically in the months ahead. Electric Ireland previously confirmed that their residential electricity bills are set to increase by 26.5 per cent, and gas by 37.5 per cent from October 1 .
However, Michael argued that Ireland had lived through periods of inflation and hefty energy bills before. He also said he was optimistic that Irish people could modify their energy consumption to ease financial pressures ahead of time.
He added: “There is no doubt this is going to be a very difficult winter. We’re all going to have to cut our cloth, interest rates are going to rise. I think we’re going to see consumers adjust pretty quickly to these new realities.”
The businessman previously admitted that Ryanair’s famous €10 short-haul flights would undergo a price increase as a result of soaring fuel prices. However, he also predicted that the low budget airline would become an enticing option for passengers as fares continue to increase internationally.
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