ASTI hits out at baseless Michael O'Leary jibes and cheap reaction by Fine Gael activists

The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) has hit out at the baseless Michael O'Leary jibes and cheap reaction by Fine Gael activists during the event to kickstart Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke's General Election campaign.

ASTI General Secretary Kieran Christie stated, “The ignorant and risible comments by Mr Michael O’Leary of Ryanair at a Fine Gael campaign event, compounded by a cheap and sycophantic reaction by Fine Gael activists, cannot be allowed to distract from the real issues in this election from an ASTI perspective.

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"These include the need for postponement of the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme to allow for badly needed adjustments to take place, measures to address the chronic recruitment and retention crisis and the lifting of Ireland off the bottom rung of the OECD ladder in terms of investment.

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“Rather than insulting the teaching profession - which has a sterling track record of educating the youth of the country - with baseless jibes, efforts to iron out the enormous challenges within the system would be a more productive endeavour."