I'd never be overly confident about anything.

Mum is from West Waterford, Dungarvan. She's a farmer's daughter. She's a nurse. She left home very young - I think she was 18 - and went off to train as a nurse in England. My dad is from India, just south of Mumbai. He was one of the first in his family to go to college, and he went to England in the '70s; he emigrated there.

We need to stand over our policies when negotiating a programme for government.

I find it scary when people talk about me as a future leader. It's like putting a big target on your back.

I hope the unionist parties, for example, who would be keen to protect and preserve the Union would see that it's much easier to do that if the U.K. stays within the Customs Union and the Single Market, because that would take away the need for any special arrangement, or bespoke solution, for Northern Ireland.

I've realised that doctors can only help change a certain number of patients, but a Minister of Health can really change things.

Fine Gael needs to be Fine Gael and needs to stand its ground. It should not sacrifice its politics for position in government.

I have expressed a very strong view that no health minister on their own can turn the health service around.

There are far too many people who get up early in the morning, and work hard, who cannot make ends meet.