You run a mutibillion euro turnover company and are faced by an issue that could potentially cost you hundreds of millions. I think you would buy in some serious legal fire power and lobbying. Clearly the self employment rules were not designed for this specific case and are likely to be changed. But for the moment Ryanair seem to be at least one step removed from the firing line.
There are plenty of other professions where it is perfectly normal to start as a contractor. IT would be a perfect example. After a couple of years you move on to another project, in Ryanair's case Norwegian or the sandpit or become an employee and captain. I am not a particular fan, but the model has produced a lot of very competent pilots.
Ryanair is not for everyone and there were some good points made by the ARD programme, like the incentive to work when not fit. But if my son was crazy enough to want to follow in my footsteps, then I can think of worse places to start. What did interest me was that the guy at the centre of the programme received a settlement but was either not subject to a non disclosure agreement or chose to ignore it.