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- Ryanair has bought 40 houses near Dublin Airport to rent out to cabin crew.
- Local politicians spoke out against it as housing is in high demand in Dublin.
- CEO Michael O'Leary said he had "absolutely nothing to apologise for."
Europe's biggest airline is buying up houses near its Dublin headquarters to rent out to new cabin crew, Ryanair said in a statement shared with Business Insider.
The world's biggest airline by market cap has bought around 40 houses over the last year — all of which are located in Swords, north Dublin, the Irish newspaper Business Post first reported.
The budget airline faced criticism from politicians after it purchased 25 out of the 28 homes in one new housing development in Swords, just two miles away from Dublin Airport.
The move came as the capital faces a severe housing crisis that has left many unable to afford homes.
"People are finding it really difficult to rent and to buy. It's in a prime location, it's close to all of the amenities," Ann Graves, a local politician, told the Irish Independent.
"For anyone that wants to live in the area, there's a lot of disappointment," she added.
But in an interview earlier this week, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that he had "absolutely nothing to apologise for," per The Journal.
"Our first job here is to look after our passengers and our second job is to look after our staff," he said. "If anybody else wants to whinge about it, then they can buy one of the other 32,555 that have been built last year."
The typically outspoken boss said Ryanair needs affordable accommodation, in particular for crews "who have to report early in the morning or who get in late in the evening."
In the statement to Business Insider, Ryanair said: "In recent years the absence of affordable rental accommodation has been a major impediment to recruiting and training new Irish and European cabin crew members to Ryanair's inflight team."
"This accommodation, which is located one bus stop from Dublin Airport, will be rented at affordable rates to Ryanair cabin crew during their first year of employment," it added.