Fine Gael promise an 800m spend on business within 100 days of election [Video]

Fine Gael enters the general election campaign expecting to end up where the party started: in government with Fianna Fáil.

Taoiseach Simon Harris and company are polling strongly after 14 years in government, but start the campaign on the backfoot after comments about teachers by Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary at a Fine Gael event.

Endorsing Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke in his Longford-Westmeath constituency on Saturday, O’Leary provoked laughter from party activists when he said “The Dáil is full of teachers.

“Nothing wrong with teachers, I love teachers but I wouldn’t generally employ a lot of teachers to go out and get things done.”

Harris and various party members have since sought to distance themselves from O’Leary’s comments, which have been condemned by the teachers’ unions ASTI, TUI and INTO.

The incident has diverted attention away from Fine Gael’s first policy announcements focusing on business over the weekend.

The party has pledged to spend €800m …