Enda Kenny

For me, it is all about people having jobs, and that is why I make no apology for having focused relentlessly on employment and job creation. ”

We've got enormous potential, phenomenal potential on our doorstep, which requires politics that makes that work, and that's what we try to show here in Ireland: that while there's a lot of pain, the reward at the end of this is career opportunities, prosperity, and brighter days for everybody. ”

Rather than just saying, like, 'Your economy is the be all and end all,' I go back to my three roots that I've often said about this being best country for business, the best to raise a family in, and the best to grow old in with a sense of dignity and respect. ”

We have spent our time in government fixing the economy. ”

I am a big believer in Springsteen, I like his social comment; I like the commitment he puts into his work. ”

You're not going to be able to deliver jobs locally unless you sort out the nation's problems, and that's why the big and difficult decisions about Ireland's economy have been so crucial and so difficult for people to have to accept and have to deal with, but the reality is the people gave this government an unprecedented mandate. ”

My job is to rectify the public finances and hand the country back to the people so they can really have a future, and that is what I will do. ”

I just think that the older you get, the more you appreciate the responsibility of politics. ”

You have a responsibility as a locally elected deputy, but you also have a responsibility as the head of government. ”

One of the key drivers of Ireland's future is our balance of trade surplus. ”