'Take the cyclists out and shoot them,' says Ryanair boss

He may have been speaking at the Creative Minds conference in Dublin, but Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary won't win any creativity awards for his thoughts on what to do with cyclists.

The outspoken Irishman hit out at Dublin City Council's plans to make the city a more appealing place for cyclists.

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"That's all we need in Dublin is more blooming bicycles," he said, reported in the Irish Independent. (opens in new tab) "In a country where it rains about 250 days a year, the way forward for Dublin is more bicycles.

“Let's just go back to walking altogether. Soon we'll be living in caves designed by Dublin City Council. Traffic won't work, there's nowhere to park the cars and yet this is a smarter way forward.

“We should take the cyclists out and shoot them."

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O'Leary's argument was based on the fact that he lives 55 miles away from his Dublin Airport office in County Westmeath - a journey he says he can't do by bike.

The man who once suggested getting rid of the seats on his planes and charging people £4 to stand up instead said the council "deserve a slapping".

He added: "I want to drive and I expect Dublin City [Council] to come up with a smarter way for me to get around Dublin and be able to park my car somewhere in the middle of Dublin without it being dug up every six weeks so we can have some other faddy non sustainable public transport solution."