Ryanair boss O'Leary defends 'high-fare rapists' airlines remarks
O'Leary has said airline passengers "can't afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe".
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has declined to apologise to a rape crisis centre that criticised him for calling rival airlines "high-fare rapists".
Speaking to journalists, O'Leary said some people were "desperate to get to Ryanair's low fares because they can't afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe".
He stood by the wording when questioned at the time, and later refused to apologise after the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) wrote to him requesting one, according to a letter seen by the BBC.
Ireland's deputy premier Simon Harris said it was "clearly an inappropriate use of language" and that O'Leary "should have moved to rectify it".
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told UK radio outlet LBC that victims of rape are "not going to be rushing to book tickets with him, let's be honest".
O'Leary made the remarks on Thursday while speaking to journalists before Ryanair's annual meeting with shareholders.
When a Press Association reporter asked whether the language was appropriate, he replied: "Absolutely."
"British Airways, Lufthansa, and everybody else's high fares, I'll happily offend them on a regular basis," he added.
Asked if it would offend sexual assault victims, he said rape was "a terrible crime".
After O'Leary's comments, DRCC chief executive Rachel Morrogh wrote to him, accusing him of seeking a headline with his remarks.
She said the DRCC had received calls from rape victims who were "upset and distressed because of what you said".
She offered O'Leary training on the impact of sexual violence and urged him to apologise.
"I can't imagine you would ever use the term so flippantly again if you truly understood [what] it was like to survive rape," she wrote.
In reply, O'Leary said: "I am quite clear that no remarks of mine could possibly trivialise the heinous crime of rape."
He added that because he had not "trivialised the heinous crime of rape" he would "not be issuing any apology or accepting your offer of training".
It is not the first time O'Leary has caused offence while discussing his business.
In 2004, he reportedly described the owners of Stansted Airport as "a bunch of overcharging rapists".
He has also previously called some of his own staff "lazy bastards" and once told passengers seeking a refund, "we don't want to hear your sob stories".
In June, he said the airline would "reluctantly" stop charging parents to sit next to children after a watchdog investigation was launched, but insisted its earlier policy complied with laws.