Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, who has come under criticism for characterising his airline rivals as “high-fare rapists”, has rejected the claim that his remarks “trivialise” sexual violence.
Rachel Morrogh, the chief executive of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, a charity that supports victims of sexual and gender-based violence, said on Thursday “the words of high-profile individuals can contribute to trivialising and tolerating sexual violence in our society”.
“And for many survivors of rape, his words will be deeply hurtful and angering to hear,” she said and later signalled her intention to “write to Mr O’Leary to offer him training on how the trivialisation of rape is so harmful”.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday outside the airline’s annual general meeting, O’Leary said customers were “desperate to get to Ryanair’s low fares because they can’t afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe,” and named Aer Lingus, Lufthansa and British Airways.
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He went on to repeat the “high-fare rapists” comment and, when asked by a reporter if this was an appropriate use of language, he responded: “Absolutely.”
Morrogh described these as “lazy and uninformed comments”, adding O’Leary had “no regard for how they may affect people”.
In a letter responding to Morrogh, seen by The Irish Times, O’Leary wrote: “I certainly did not trivialise the crime of rape as you wrongly claim.”
He continued: “I am quite clear that no remarks of mine could possibly trivialise the heinous crime of rape. I will certainly not be issuing any apology or accepting your offer of training.”
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He wrote that Morrogh’s letter “wrongly claims” that he “dodged a question about whether it was offensive to victims of rape”.
“I was asked what I thought of rape, and answered that it was a heinous crime. I could not have been clearer,” he continued, adding: “I was also asked if describing high-fare competitor airlines as high-fare rapists somehow trivialised the crime of rape, and I was clear in my view that it did not.
“You are entirely free to hold a different opinion and we are free to disagree,” he wrote, before stating Morrogh’s view that his remarks “perpetuate dismissive attitudes to the survivors of rape” was “both false and defamatory”.
O’Leary has been criticised by politicians on both sides of the Irish Sea. Tánaiste Simon Harris described his remarks as “clearly an inappropriate use of language”.
“I also think he knows exactly what he’s at,” Harris said. “We’re all here talking about Ryanair – it is free advertisement.”
Heidi Alexander, the minister for transport in the British government, said: “Women who have been raped and who have been subjected to such appalling violence, I’m not sure they’re going to be rushing to book tickets with him, let’s be honest.”
