GB News host Eamonn Holmes has opened up on the struggles he faced as a child, admitting his parents “couldn’t afford” to take his family abroad on summer holidays.
Discussing new data from the Office for National Statistics which revealed flight costs during May half-term holidays have tripled since 2000, Eamonn hit out at parents for taking their children out of school.
Eamonn stated: “There’s a reason it’s called school term, and that is all those little kids should be at school, not elsewhere.”
Reflecting on his own childhood and family holidays, the Breakfast host admitted his parents would “never” take him on holiday during school term time.
Eamonn told co-host Ellie Costello: “I know a lot of people find it difficult to comprehend because they’re thinking, that doesn’t suit me, it’s cheaper to go then. But in my whole life, my parents would never have said take two weeks off school or take a week off school.
“So I find this very hard, it just shouldn’t be part of the equation. You’re at school, you’re not on holiday.”
Ellie then argued that many parents “can’t afford” the increasing prices of flights during school holidays, telling Eamonn: “Well, lots of parents would say they can’t afford to take their children in half term because the flights have tripled.”
Agreeing with Ellie, Eamonn recalled his own family’s struggles: “I totally agree, but we couldn’t afford it, so what did we do? We went to the local beaches in Ireland.
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“That’s where we went, that’s how you had your holiday.”
Ellie then added: “Yeah, so you’d just forego a foreign holiday.”
Weighing in further on parents taking their children out of school for holidays, Eamonn fumed that it is “the law” to attend school in term time.
He said: “The law says you have to be at school. The prices aren’t really relevant to what I’m saying, because the rules say you’re not available for these holidays, so you’re at school.
“The only rule that comes first is that a school term means that’s what the law requires you to do, be at school, not be on a beach in Ibiza.”
Offering a defence for the parents, broadcaster Paul Coyte argued that the prices are “disgusting” out of term time, and so parents will be “tempted” to remove their children earlier in favour of lower prices.
He said: “But the temptation is there. If it’s so much cheaper and you couldn’t afford to go during the summer holidays, I’ve never done that, but if it’s so much cheaper, then you can see what the temptation is for parents to think, you know what, we couldn’t afford to do that, so maybe we’ll do it because it’s so much cheaper. Surely it should be the same price.”
Eamonn hit back: “I understand the temptation, but it’s about what’s right and what’s wrong.”