For years, Ireland used to have a philosophy of 'Get them in here to invest and develop in Ireland, and this will sort out our problems.' It is good in the sense of building a trade surplus, but we also want to develop what it is that we offer ourselves and that Irish companies export abroad.

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.

Foreign investors like decisiveness; they like clarity. There isn't any confusion about Ireland's corporate tax rate: it is 12.5%. End of story.

I don't take myself too seriously, but I take the job very seriously, and I expect people to do the job that they're given because this is about all our people, young and old, and it's an enormous responsibility.

I'm a big fan of Springsteen. Obviously, his social commentary is very powerful for me. I like his album 'The Rising.' It's not a new one, but it sticks in my mind because of what it says to me.

My experience would say to me, never presume to have an answer to what the people are actually going to do.

My wife, Fionnuala, and I have been married for more than 20 years.

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.

We link our future to the euro, to the euro zone, and to the European Union while being the nearest neighbor of the United Kingdom with, obviously, a common travel area and a very close working relationship with the U.K.