I made visits this morning to picket lines at Dublin Airport and at LloydsPharmacy in Coolock. I am going to try to bring a little of the spirit of those picket lines to this Dáil exchange. In October 2016, Michael O'Leary attended a fundraiser breakfast in the Shelbourne Hotel where he made an attack on trade unionists, making reference, for example, to RTÉ as a "rat-infested North Korean union shop". Little did Michael realise at the time that within a year, his own company would be turned into a union shop. Is it not ironic that he made reference to a dictatorship, when the precise reason he is in trouble today is his attempt to run his own company as a dictatorship? There is no master seniority list for pilots in order that they might know in advance in what country they were going to live and for how long or in order that they might be able to organise their holidays. There is rule by fear; refusal to recognise unions and then when forced to, refusal to engage seriously. There is low pay in the era of crazy rents and bogus self-employment on a massive scale, facilitated by successive Irish Governments including the one in which the Tánaiste sits.

They say that workers cannot stand up to multinational corporations. Well they can, and Ryanair workers are showing precisely how. Cabin crews now plan to strike in Italy, Portugal, Spain and Belgium and are joining the union here as well. International workers' organisation and action can beat the multinationals. Karl Marx was right: "Workers of all countries, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains."

Another dictatorship, LloydsPharmacy, made nearly £500 million in profit in the UK alone in the last two years. Does it recognise unions here for its workforce, more than 90% of which is female? No. Does it exploit these women with zero-hour contracts? It does indeed. Does it operate a proper sick pay scheme? It does in my neck. Can the Tánaiste imagine that? A pharmacy that does not allow its workers a sick pay scheme. We have seen a one-sided civil war in many workplaces in recent years. In these two workplaces however, workers are fighting back. I hope their example inspires others to do the same. Capitalism, and right-wing Governments like the Tánaiste's that serve its agenda, go hand in hand with low pay, the gender pay gap, zero-hour contracts and attacks on unions. This race to the bottom should have no place in Irish society. Can the Tánaiste agree that this race to the bottom should have no place in Irish society, and that workers who fight back against it have right and justice very much on their side?

Disputes like this are not going to be solved by ideology, which is how the Deputy approaches all of these things-----

So does the Tánaiste.

-----in trying to blame some kind of capitalist system for every dispute that occurs. What is happening here is a dispute between Ryanair and some of its pilots. Our concern is that this dispute is resolved quickly and the travelling public is not discommoded in a significant way. As such, it is regrettable that the dispute was not solved yesterday when the two parties and their representatives engaged with each other. Our perspective on this as a Government is that we want to encourage both sides to find a resolution as quickly as possible. A lot of people rely on Ryanair to travel, for business, holidays and other needs. We want to see the travelling public respected by both sides by being informed in time if flights are going to be cancelled, which by and large has happened to date. We do not want to see a further escalation that discommodes the travelling public. What we want to see is a fair dispute resolution that is fair to workers and that can be agreed to by a company that is providing a hugely important service to the travelling public. The same goes for the LloydsPharmacy dispute.

The Deputy's description of an Ireland of very low pay under some kind of negative capitalist system does not reflect reality. Pay has actually increased by 2.5% on average over the past 12 months. We are now down to an unemployment rate of just over 5%.

Some 120,200 people are unemployed.

It is the capitalist system that is actually looking after the needs of the vast majority of workers in Ireland.

There is no housing.

However disputes will occur, and we have a significant one at the moment in the largest airline in Europe. Of course we want to see it conclude as quickly as possible but it is primarily a matter between the airline and the workers' representatives involved.

I too regret the stranding of passengers. However, unlike the Tánaiste, I put the blame where it belongs; at the feet of Ryanair and Mr. O'Leary. I also place blame at the feet of the Government. Who facilitated Ryanair's bogus self-employment practices? Who stood back while workers in Ryanair uniforms flew Ryanair planes, yet were officially declared to be self-employed? Who allowed Ryanair to save a fortune in taxes and to cheat their workers on sick pay, holiday pay and pensions? The Government did - the same Fine Gaelers who hosted that breakfast for Mr. O'Leary in the Shelbourne and who laughed and cheered him as he attacked unions. I believe the Tánaiste was there himself. He might remember it. The weather has been fairly good of late but the class struggle is hotting up now. Maybe, just maybe, the one-sided civil war is not going to be so one-sided any more.

That kind of scripted ideological response-----

It is a declaration of war.

-----talking about class warfare and so on, is certainly not going to make a positive contribution to society generally in Ireland right now and is certainly not going to help find a resolution to a dispute between pilots and Ryanair.

That is Michael O'Leary's fault.

This is a company that has grown to be one of the largest airlines in the world.

Thanks to its workers.

It is a story of which many Irish people are proud. It is a company that has recently recognised trade unions and is now in a dispute and in negotiation with trade union representatives, as many large companies sometimes are, thankfully not that regularly. As a Government, we want to see this dispute resolved quickly. We certainly do not want to see the kind of approach the Deputy is recommending, which is to turn a dispute into some kind of class warfare and which reflects the kind of politics he brings to this House.

Mr. O'Leary launched the class warfare.