Quotes from Enda Kenny

Emigration is always a difficulty.

People tell me their own stories about how they have come through great difficulty.

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 so much discrimination in this world - colour, race, creed, all of these things - and there is an issue here that the right of marriage in the civil law is not extended to same-sex couples.

Ireland cannot become the collector general for the world. We can only tax on profits generated in the country here.

I think 'austerity' is a much abused word. I prefer to call it 'fiscal discipline' or financial, 'financial competency.'

I intend to serve a full term as Taoiseach.

We are going to serve our full term; there will be no snap election, and we are going to do our best to ensure that 2016 is going to be a good economic year.

It is about time county councils got back into the business of providing houses.

The re-establishment of a hard border on the island of Ireland would be a step backwards and present an opportunity for others, with malign agendas, to exploit for destructive purposes.

If somebody says, 'I am a gay person, and I want to get married,' is their own family going to deny them that? Are our own fellow citizens going to deny them that?

COP 21 provides a unique opportunity for the political leaders of this generation to provide lasting foundations for the preservation and sustainability of generations of the future.

The best recording is the one you bring with you in your mind.

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.

Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing climate change - this means reducing emissions, adapting to impacts, and enhancing and improving carbon sinks.

We need to work together towards a mutually beneficial solution for Ireland, the U.K., and for Europe.

Our common membership of the E.U. provided an important external context to the Irish and U.K. governments working together for peace. It should not be discounted lightly.

The U.K. and Ireland are like-minded on E.U. matters, and the process of working together in Brussels has built an immense store of knowledge, personal relationships, and trust between our governments.

By 2007, an uncompetitive, bloated, over-borrowed and distorted Irish economy had been left at the mercy of subsequent international events without the safeguards, institutions, and mindset needed to survive and prosper as a small open economy inside the euro area.

The Seanad question was one element of a process of change and reform to politics that government has been pursuing.

My relationship with Alan Shatter is a professional relationship: obviously worked with him over the years, complimented him for his work as a reforming minister, and move on.

My job starts at a quarter to seven in the morning, and you go right through until whatever time is necessary to finish up.

If people want to follow an illusion that you don't have to pay your way, you don't have to measure up, then there are serious consequences for any country.

Under no circumstances will I allow the Fianna Fail party back into government. They wrecked the economy twice.