Ryanair's Micheal O'Leary has joined the cabinet of the new taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Irish Republic today following the swift departure of Michael Noonan for mis-handling renewed talks with the IMF. O'Leary, with no direct Government experience but a long history of self-promotion, is seen as the ideal candidate to facilitate the cost-cutting needed to stem Ireland's debt.
Although not officially beginning the role until Monday, O'Leary has already outlined his new agenda by taking out a cheeky ad in the Irish Times. In the ad O'Leary indicates how much cheaper it will be to live in Ireland with a base rate of tax at only 7%. He also claimed that Ireland will be a cheaper place to live than any other country in Europe.
However, opposition members from Fianna Fail are already criticising O'Leary's agenda, "We all know that he is the king of cut price, but Ireland's citizens should expect to have to pay for a lot of things they didn't even realise they received." Further details in a leaked document show that on top of the base rate of 7%, Ireland's tax payers will now be subjected to additional charges for voter registration, shamrocks on their guinness head and fees for the top of the stairs - so called 'landing charges'.
O'Leary is also planning to revolutionise the country's tax collecting body, giving them the ability to charge for bellies deemed too big for standard bus seats and also to sell scratch cards and perfumes while performing tax assessments. It is expected that Ireland will return to profitability in 2013 and that mass migration to America, flying with United, will begin again in late 2012.